Major Disruption To South West Trains Via Earlsfield This Summer
Be prepared for severely reduced services due to Waterloo upgrade
This summer, between 5 and 28 August inclusive, fewer South West Trains services will run while work starts to extend platforms at London Waterloo. This is being done to accommodate the new longer 10-carriage trains which came into service last year.
Earlsfield Station will be particularly badly affected before it can benefit from the extra capacity longer trains. Between 5-28 August 2017 inclusive, no trains will call at Earlsfield on weekdays, in either direction, during the mornings and evenings. The station will be closed until 10am and again from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Trains will stop at Earlsfield in both directions between 10am and 4.30pm, and after 7.30pm.
During the planned works, South West Trains are advising that roads in the surrounding area will be busier. Local buses to Earlsfield, Clapham Junction, Vauxhall and London Waterloo will also be busier than usual. They have also issued warnings that the Victoria line from Vauxhall, the Northern line from Tooting Broadway and the District line from East Putney will also be very busy during the works.
South West Trains say, " We are working with Transport for London to help passengers in Earlsfield travel during this time and further information will be provided in due course."
If you are travelling in the mornings and evenings during this time, you can take a bus to the following destinations: :
• Clapham Junction for South West Trains, Southern or London Overground services to Central London
•Vauxhall for Victoria Line services
•Bus to London Waterloo for onwards connections
Passengers are also being warned that Clapham Junction and Wandsworth Town will have fewer South West Trains services than normal and there are likely to be queues at these stations.
Why is Earlsfield station closed during the busiest times of the day?
South West Trains says that as a result of the reduced capacity during the works at London Waterloo, the frequency of trains calling at Earlsfield would have to reduce from 18 trains per hour to just eight. Given how busy Earlsfield station is and given the reduced train service, passengers would find it extremely difficult to board trains during the mornings and evenings.
As a result, Earlsfield station and platforms would become extremely overcrowded and potentially dangerous; particularly as the layout of the station does not leave space for passengers to safely wait or queue elsewhere.
When finished t he Waterloo upgrades will allow the longer, 10-carriages trains to call at Earlsfield. From December 2017 more than three quarters of trains calling at Earlsfield will made up of 10 carriages as opposed to 8.
April 16, 2017