Passengers warned not to travel to Waterloo station after major signal failure
Rail passengers have been urged not to travel to Waterloo station this morning after a major signalling failure.
South Western Railway advised passengers not to travel to Waterloo and to seek alternative arrangements.
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Network Rail said in a statement: "There is a major signalling failure which is affecting all lines between Woking and Surbiton, meaning trains are unable to run on this line through to London Waterloo.”
Network Rail said its engineers were working to fix the problem and apologised for the disruption caused.
The major disruption this morning comes on top of an already announced reduction in service because of a strike by guards from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT).
South Western Railway is running a reduced service between 23 and 27 October and on 3, 10, 17 and 24 November.
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One traveller posted a picture of a departure board showing a string of cancelled and delayed trains.
Yay the trains are broken again! In all seriousness they are announcing to only travel if you absolutely need to. Sadly I do, but others may be able to avoid the carnage. #Waterloo #londoncommute pic.twitter.com/tzalH28yZf
— Matt Lintott (@mattlintott) October 24, 2018
Another commuter said she was unable to work today after the disruption caused by the signal failure and the strike.
@SW_Help As I am unable to travel to work today due to the chaos of the strike and the issues on the lines unto Waterloo, how do I claim back my ticket price please?
— Travellingtheworld✈ (@_100Countries) October 24, 2018
One Twitter user praised South Western Railway for its advice for passengers not to travel.
@SW_Help hats off to you guys. Signal Failure at Waterloo which is now national news… Not much you can do about it other than wait for it to be fixed, your advice not to travel is sensible. Yes inconvenient, but what is the alternative – get cross on a delayed train?
— Graham Reed 🌟🧠 (@GrazReed) October 24, 2018