South Western Railway has urged its rail commuters not to travel to Waterloo station this morning after a major signalling fault on its line.
The commuter and suburban rail operator has said on its website that a fault between Woking and Surbiton on its line is causing major problems for the company.
SWR is already running a reduced service today in light of a five-day strike by RMT union over the role guards will play on the company's trains in the future.
The operator tweeted: " Due to a major fault with Network Rail signalling systems between Woking and Surbiton. We are advising all passengers who travel on the mainline and suburban services that run through these stations, not to travel and to check http://southwesternrailway.com ."
Network Rail has reiterated the advice, saying the "major signalling fault" is affecting the "South Western Main Line".
Their latest statement goes on to say that Network Rail engineers are on site and that they hope to "resolve the issue as quickly as possible".
London Waterloo is the busiest station in the UK.
We'll bring you the latest updates on this developing story on our live blog below:
Key Events
Lines reopened
Network Rail has just confirmed that all the lines are now reopened - but the bad news is that there are likely to be delays for the rest of the day.
Here’s their statement: “We are sorry to passengers for the ongoing serious disruption on the South Western Railway network today. Our engineers have now fixed the signal fault and all lines have reopened.
“However, passengers should expect significant disruption through the day as we work hard with South Western Railway to recover the train service. Passengers are urged to follow the travel advice issued by South Western Railway and should check journeys before travelling at southwesternrailway.com or National Rail Enquiries.
“Passengers should also note that an amended timetable is in place today due to RMT union industrial action.
Network Rail would like to thank passengers for their continued patience as work continues to return the service to normal.”
Which lines are affected
South Western has clarified which of its lines are affected by the signal failure between Surbiton and Woking.
The following lines are subject to major delays and disruptions.
So what train services to Waterloo are working?
London Waterloo is the busiest rail station in the country.
Other services are still running as normal, including Southern Rail services to the terminus from Horsham and Dorking.
The South Western Service from Reading to Waterloo, via Richmond, Twickenham and Feltham, appears to be running without the issues affecting the operator’s other line.
Major delays on trains to Waterloo
This is what the arrivals board for Waterloo looks like at the moment.
You are entitled to compensation
If you have been affected by today’s disruptions, you are entitled to compensation from SWR.
The company’s policies and procedure can all be found in the link in this tweet.
Full Network Rail statement
Here is the full statement from Network Rail on this morning’s disruptions to services.
A major signalling fault is affecting services on the South Western Main Line with South Western Railway advising passengers not to travel and to seek alternative arrangements.
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. Trains between Salisbury and London Waterloo will start and terminate at Basingstoke.
Network Rail engineers are on site and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Network Rail is urging passengers to follow the travel advice issued by South Western Railway which is that all passengers who travel on the Main Line, and suburban services that run through these stations, should not to travel and should check southwesternrailway.com or National Rail Enquiries for updates.
Network Rail would like to apologise for the disruption this morning and thanks passengers for their continued patience whilst we work to resolve this issue.
What about the strike?
Transport workers union RMT had announced a five-day strike this week on South Western Railway this week over a dispute between union and rail bosses.
RMT’s strike is over the future role of guards on trains, with SWR looking to make the switch to driver-operated doors on its trains.
As a result, commuters were faced with shocking delays and overcrowding on trains and platforms yesterday.
SWR said it would be running a limited service on strike days.
Network Rail is saying the same thing
In Network Rail’s latest statement on this morning’s rail disruptions they support SWR’s advice not to travel.
Network Rail is urging passengers to follow the travel advice issued by South Western Railway which is that all passengers who travel on the Main Line, and suburban services that run through these stations, should not to travel.
Network Rail engineers are on site working to fix the problem, although they have described it as a “major signalling fault”.
Have they really said "do not travel"
Yes. South Western Railway had the following advice for it’s commuters this morning:
What's going on?
Good Morning and thanks for joining us as we try and help you find your way in to work, university or whatever you might be doing this morning.
The bad news is that there has been a signal failure between Woking abd Surbiton and that this is affecting South Western Railway’s ability to operate trains on their South Western Main Line.
As a result they have asked those passengers who want to travel to Waterloo, that they do not travel this morning.
