South West Trains Apologise For Rail Disruption

Published on: 19 Mar, 2013
Updated on: 21 Mar, 2013

By Tom Fowler

Following the delays and train suspensions at Guildford station early Monday morning (March 18) a South West Trains (SWT) issued a statement.

A spokesperson said: “Services on parts of our network were disrupted yesterday morning as a results of adverse weather conditions which have also affected other train operators.”

“Monday morning staff had trouble reaching the station and commuters were left waiting in the cold with little information after a power rail had become iced over from the previous nights cold weather.”

The statement went on to say: “Cold weather conditions caused a build-up of ice on the conductor rail which is used to power our trains. When ice forms on the conductor rail, it affects the power supply to trains and services are prevented from running normally.”

The line between Guildford and Havant had been suspended along with the line to Ascot. The lines were reopened by 10am but suffered delays throughout much of the morning. Services were restored to normal by 2pm.

SWT ended their statement with an apology to passengers: “Our services returned to normal by lunch time and we ran a normal evening peak service. We would like to apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience caused.”

Item from Monday (March 18)

South West Trains (SWT) services were suspended at Guildford railway station on Monday morning (March 18) after a power rail had become iced over due to the cold weather.

South West Trains services were disrupted on Monday morning, March 18.

Staff had difficulty reaching the station after the line between Havant and Guildford had to be closed, leaving commuters frustrated and confused.

Early Monday morning passengers were subject to delays and had trouble getting information on the situation.

SWT informed the public using its Twitter feed at 7am, stating: “The line between Guildford and Havant is now blocked in both directions. Trains are being altered and diverted via Eastleigh where possible.”

SWT posted a tweet at 8am saying bus services were being arranged for commuters and trains were being diverted through Eastleigh, where possible.

Commuter Giorgio Fattore, 21, a barmen from Guildford, said: “I was waiting outside in the cold for at least 45 minutes before a friend picked me up. I was 20 minutes late to work.”

Twitter user, “Eighties”, took to the Twitter feed at 9am stating: “Why at a major station like Guildford is their no one to help or knows what’s going on with the major delays!! Customer Service?”

Trains between Guildford and Havant suffered from delays for up to 60 minutes, while the line between Ascot and Guildford had also been closed, but reopened at 9am.

A post on the feed at 10am confirmed delays between Havant and Guildford, and Ascot, expected until 2pm. Two later posts made at 1pm and 2pm confirmed that the lines had been cleared and services were running normally again.