Landslip on Exeter to London line
South Western Railway (SWR) is advising customers to avoid travelling between to Woking and London Waterloo this week. This is on the main line from Crewkerne, Yeovil Junction and Templecombe into London Waterloo. There was a major landslip on Sunday 15 January. It was between Basingstoke and Woking in the Hook area of Hampshire. As a result SWR are severely reducing the number of trains that run on the line. This is for safety reasons.
Sunday’s landslip was one of 11 separate incidents that affected infrastructure on SWR’s routes overnight on Sunday and into Monday. This follows higher than average rainfall and localised flooding in many areas along the route.
As a result there will be no through trains from Exeter to London Waterloo. All services to London Waterloo from Exeter, Crewkerne, Yeovil Junction and Templecombe will terminate at Basingstoke. From here an extremely limited shuttle service will connect with trains at Woking. Customers planning to travel on the mainline between Basingstoke and Woking are asked to only do so if absolutely necessary.
Claire Mann, Managing Director of South Western Railway adds: “With the repairs at Hook set to take at least a week to complete it is likely that further service alternations will need to be made. We are sorry for the ongoing disruption caused by the landslip and will communicate any changes to our customers as soon as possible.”