Network Rail advises south London and Surrey passengers to Check Before You Travel ahead of Easter u

Route: Wessex

Passengers planning to travel over the Easter bank holiday weekend are being advised to check before they travel while Network Rail invests £4 million in making the railway in south London more reliable.

Network Rail is investing £4 million in the railway at Waterloo over the Easter weekend
Over 7,000 person hours will go into completing Waterloo upgrade over the Easter weekend
Work timed over Easter as passenger numbers drop by up to 50%

The £4 million investment over the bank holiday weekend will see Network Rail’s orange army working around the clock from Good Friday to Easter Sunday to replace important sections of track and install a new signalling gantry at Waterloo station, as part of the Waterloo & South West Upgrade which will enable a 30% increase in capacity by December 2018. Engineers will also carry out work to the signalling equipment at Twickenham station.

From Good Friday to Easter Sunday (inclusive), fewer services will be running in and out of Waterloo station, and bus replacement services will be in operation between Barnes, Hounslow and Teddington owing to the work at Twickenham.

Becky Lumlock, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “As part of our Railway Upgrade Plan we’re investing £4 million in the railway at Waterloo over the Easter break. This work is in preparation for the Waterloo & South West Upgrade which will increase capacity at Waterloo by 30% by the end of 2018.

“While there’s never a good time to close the railway, bank holiday weekends provide us with an extended period of time to get significant pieces of work done when passenger numbers drop by up to 50%. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out our work and remind them to check their journeys in advance to see how they may be affected.”

Adam Piddington, customer service director for South West Trains, said: “These works are crucial to help improve the rail infrastructure so that we can deliver extra capacity for the increasing numbers of passengers, however this will mean significant changes to journeys over the Easter weekend.

“We would advise all our passengers to plan their journeys well ahead whilst the works are taking place and to check before they travel.”

Passengers can check their journeys online at nationalrail.co.uk