Major Disruption on Guildford Rail Services as Engineering Works Overrun

Published on: 19 Nov, 2018
Updated on: 19 Nov, 2018

SWR “Help” Message

Guildford rail commuters are facing major disruption this morning owing to overrunning engineering works between Surbiton and Waterloo. The work should have been completed at 4.30am.

Woking station has been closed, it is reported and the works are now not expected to be completed until 8.30am “at the earliest” according to National Rail Enquiries.

The rail operator South Western Railway has said services across its whole network may be cancelled delayed or revised: “Passengers are asked to delay the start of their journeys this morning as all lines from Surbiton into Waterloo are blocked due to overrunning engineering works.” The disruption is expected to continue all day.

The live departures board at Guildford this morning showing the extent of the disruption.

Waterloo station is the UK’s busiest railway station and thousands of passengers are being affected. The SWT website was inaccessible this morning at 8am but Twitter messages give a flavour of the chaos.

Recently a long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains has also affected services because of industrial action.

Are you suffering disruption? Do you have images of the disruption at Guildford? If so, please email: guildford.dragon@gmail.com

Responses to Major Disruption on Guildford Rail Services as Engineering Works Overrun

Lisa Wright Reply

November 19, 2018 at 6:06 pm

So, not only do you have to stand on a train for up to an hour each way every day between London and Guildford, but you also have to pay £10 per day to park plus £27 for this hideous daily train journey.

Trains are always delayed, cancelled and seriously overcrowded.

Travelling to and from the station is also a task and can sometimes take as long as the train journey itself, even for a short few miles.

What’s even more unacceptable is that SWT and Network Rail expect people to stay at home when the trains don’t run. Do they not realise that people have important jobs to do and rely on a public transport system to get them there?

What is the government going to do to improve our transport nightmare while encouraging another 25,000 people through the Local Plan to live in Guildford?
- Keith Reeves Reply
  
  November 20, 2018 at 2:55 pm
  
  Trains are not ‘always delayed, cancelled and seriously overcrowded’. Although there have been more issues lately, the reliability and punctuality are pretty good, overall.
  
  A mainline train to Waterloo takes 35 mins, plus or minus a couple of minutes, and on the return journey at least you’d only have to stand if you got to Waterloo just before the train departed. If you don’t mind taking an hour you’ll always get a seat on a train to Waterloo via Effingham Junction, even at the height of the rush hour.
  
  Parking at Farnham Road car park is less than £10 a day and there is also Guildford Park a short walk away which is £5 a day. Many of us can, and do, take the bus or cycle to the station.
  
  I concur with David Smith that a massive amount of (our) money is being spent on maintenance or renewal. Maybe the allocation and level aren’t perfect, but we can’t deny it isn’t happening.
  
  Problems on the railway are magnified in many people’s minds. We never seem to grumble quite so much about being held up for a considerable amount of time by problems on the roads, e.g. congestion caused by accidents. I suppose it’s difficult to complain about general congestion too if you’re contributing to it.
  - D Fassom Reply
    
    November 21, 2018 at 12:00 pm
    
    Keith, I can only assume you must work for SW trains. Just as a point of fact, I get the 7.12am from Clandon every day and in the past two years I would say the train has arrived on time on about five occasions.
    
    If you get on this ‘train’ (I use the description in the loosest terms possible) after Oxshott you will be standing all the way to Waterloo, every day. Also, we now have to claim for refunds which is a real pain.
    
    The best reply I had from one claim was that I should have got an earlier train as this would have got me to Waterloo on time! It seems the dolts at SW train think that, in addition to paying large sums of money for a poor service, we must also be capable of time travel.
David Smith Reply

November 20, 2018 at 7:52 am

Does Lisa Wright not understand that the UK has the oldest railway infrastructure in the world and it requires constant maintenance and renewal. The window for Network Rail to carry out these works is so small and so regrettably from time to time, projects overrun which is what appears to have happened on Monday. What’s the alternative? Leave the railway as is and compromise safety?

The government is improving your “transport nightmare” by carrying out the works in the first place.

Also, why not use the Park & Ride or one of the three bus companies that The Guildford Dragon has been writing on – saves Guildford being clogged up.

Commuter tip: get up a few minutes early to get a seat.
Keith Parkins Reply

November 20, 2018 at 6:57 pm

Chaos Waterloo was not the only chaos on Monday.

Yesterday evening GWR trains Reading to Redhill were cancelled. One Gatwick train ran, well over an hour late.

There were no announcements to advise passengers what was happening, no apology.

There should have been a bus running to Gatwick.

And this was not a one off.

In September, on at least two Fridays in a row, no Gatwick trains were running. No announcements, no advice to catch Redhill train, then change.

On the last day of October, last train from Gatwick cancelleld. No information at Gatwick on replacement bus or from where to catch.

Train indicator at North Camp has not worked since June. GWR refusing to pay the £5000 to repair.

Not only GWR.

South West Railways too.

A couple of weeks ago, no trains at Guildford, apparently broken down train at Clapham Junction.

Last week in the evening no trains at Alton. Broken down train at Clapham Junction.

September, train from Portsmouth Harbour cancelled.

Every Saturday, no trains due to guards on strike.

Other rail companies as bad.

Three times in September on East Coast Mainline, now run by LNER following disastrous performance by Virgin, trains delayed, connections missed.

Then there is Southern “Fail” and Northern “Fail”, appalling service during the summer, missed connections, delays of hours.

Trains with no working toilets.

We have a Third World train service with extortionate fares.

Beginning of January we will see train fares hiked double the rate of inflation, with rail companies telling us service has improved.

Rail fares must be frozen for the foreseeable future.

Rail must be taken back into pubic ownership, the gravy train of HS2 scrapped.

It will cost nothing as default at end of franchise.

Failing companies must be stripped of their franchise.