South Western Railway (SWR) services will experience significant disruptions across the network due to planned engineering work in Wimbledon on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January.
Long-distance services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids, Portsmouth Harbour, and Weymouth will also be revised and diverted, adding approximately 30 minutes to journey times.
Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex Route Director, acknowledged the inconvenience and said: “We’ve worked hard to find the least disruptive window to deliver these essential engineering works.”
He added: “However, completing the upgrades back-to-back is the most efficient and cost-effective option for the taxpayer.”
Rail replacement buses will operate between Clapham Junction and various destinations such as Surbiton via Kingston, Hampton Court via Surbiton and Twickenham via Kingston on specific dates.
However, local Barrie Ellis from West Tolworth criticised the reliance on buses, saying: “They are unable to take wheelchairs, prams or buggies. Why use single-deck buses when proper coaches have space underneath for these items?”
Network Rail engineers have been upgrading 800m of track, ballast and sleepers between Wimbledon and Earlsfield during January, along with replacing points and installing 100m of conductor rail to enhance track reliability and reduce faults.
A Network Rail spokesperson told the Kingston Courier: “This project has a budget of £2m. Every time Network Rail takes possession of a line, we look to do the maximum amount of work to ensure the best value for money for taxpayers and passengers.”
Cherry Eddy, who was travelling from Thames Ditton, shared her mixed feelings about the ongoing engineering works as she was forced to cancel her plans as a result of the disruptions and weather conditions.
However, she acknowledged the necessity of these works, adding: “I’m sure if we didn’t have these engineering works things would get worse, and we would have more trains being taken out of service and general disruption.”
Another resident, Teresa Hutton, shared her concerns about the replacement bus services from Surbiton to Wimbledon at 8am on Saturday 18 January, saying that it did not arrive until 9.20am.
Commuters can plan their journeys in advance at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey.
