Wednesday, July 23, 2025
A new travel warning for London Waterloo has been released by UK authorities after a major signalling failure resulted in severe delays to services at the station. The outage, first reported early Thursday morning, has crippled some core platforms, causing extensive delays and both delays and the cancellation of trains traveling into and out of the station. Long delays are likely until the end of the day and National Rail is urging passengers not to travel to the station and to find other alternatives routes for their journey. The alert comes as engineers attempt to fix the problem and return services to normal, but with no signals, the ongoing problems have been leading to heavy travel headaches for a potential thousands of commuters.
Commuters at London Waterloo, the UK’s fourth-busiest station, are facing ongoing disruptions due to a major signalling failure, with delays expected to extend well into the evening. National Rail confirmed this morning that passengers should avoid the station due to the issues with the equipment controlling the movement of trains in and out of the station.

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The disruption began early this morning and is now forecasted to persist until at least 9pm. South Western Railway, the primary operator at Waterloo, stated that the failure has rendered platforms one through 14 unusable, significantly impacting the station’s capacity. Waterloo, with its 24 platforms, is the busiest railway station in the UK, and the closure of these crucial platforms has caused a ripple effect across the network.
Passengers were urged to consider alternative travel options as the situation developed. The signalling problem was first reported just after 5:30am, and while some services have continued to operate, many later trains are expected to be delayed or altered. South Western Railway officials noted that a number of trains will still run, but the likelihood of delays or cancellations is high.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the issue in a post on X (formerly Twitter), confirming that the signalling system had been restored earlier today. However, she emphasized that it would take some time for the trains and crews to be repositioned and fully operational again. This delay has already had a knock-on effect, with several passengers reporting cancelled trains. One such passenger, Mike Egleton, who was attempting to return home to Petersfield in East Hampshire, described the disruption as a growing problem. “It seems to be one of those things that happens more and more in this country,” he remarked.
While the main station remains heavily impacted, services at Waterloo’s underground station have not been affected by the signalling issues. The underground services continue to operate as usual, offering some relief to commuters who rely on this mode of transportation.
To help ease the burden on travellers, National Rail has announced that any unused tickets for today will remain valid for travel tomorrow. This is to accommodate the substantial disruption faced by passengers, providing some flexibility as travel options are limited.
For those looking to avoid Waterloo entirely, National Rail has outlined several alternative train routes that passengers can use with their existing tickets. These include:

• CrossCountry services between Reading and Bournemouth
• Great Western Railway services between Guildford and Reading; London Paddington and Exeter St Davids; Basingstoke and Reading; Salisbury and Westbury; and Weymouth and Westbury
• Southern services between Portsmouth Harbour and London Victoria; Southampton Central and Havant; and Dorking and London Victoria
• London Underground from Waterloo to Wimbledon/Richmond; London Paddington; and London Victoria

Additionally, several bus services have stepped in to help with the disruption, accepting train tickets for travel. These services include:

• Falcon Buses:
  • 28 between Guildford, Worplesdon, Brookwood, and Woking
  • 436 between Woking, West Byfleet, Byfleet & New Haw, and Weybridge
  • 514 and 515 between Kingston, Surbiton, Thames Ditton, Esher, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, and Weybridge
  • 456 between Staines, Chertsey, Addlestone, West Byfleet, and Woking
  • 479 between Guildford, Clandon, Horsley, Effingham Village, Bookham, Leatherhead, Ashtead, Epsom
  • 408 between Cobham, Oxshott, Leatherhead, Ashtead, and Epsom
• London Buses:
  • Between London Waterloo, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Surbiton, Kingston, Hampton Court, Weybridge, Epsom, and Shepperton
• Morebus:
  • Routes 1, 2, 8, 9, 16, 17, 20, 30, and 40 covering Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Wareham, and Weymouth
• Stagecoach South:
  • 34 and 35 between Guildford and Woking

These bus services offer a vital lifeline for passengers trying to continue their journeys, with many commuters opting for these alternatives as they attempt to avoid the chaos at Waterloo.
In the face of this disruption, passengers are being urged to check the latest travel updates before setting out. National Rail has warned that, even though the signalling failure has been addressed, the ripple effects of today’s events may continue to cause delays for the rest of the day. Commuters are advised to be patient, plan for extra travel time, and make use of the available alternatives as much as possible.
The situation at Waterloo is a stark reminder of how quickly disruptions can escalate in the busy network of London’s rail stations. With Waterloo’s critical role in connecting passengers across the city and beyond, any issues with its signalling system have a far-reaching impact. As train operators work to restore full service, passengers are advised to stay informed and be prepared for ongoing delays.
The disruptions highlight the vulnerability of the UK’s transport infrastructure to technical failures, and the ongoing challenges faced by commuters as they navigate the rail system. With the disruption expected to continue well into the evening, the full extent of the impact remains to be seen, but the measures put in place offer some relief as passengers look for alternative ways to reach their destinations.
New travel advice has been provided by UK authorities due to a major signalling fault that is affecting the London Waterloo area and is causing ongoing delays and cancellations. People are advised to stay away from the station, with delays set to run throughout the day.
This disruption is just the latest in a series of issues affecting rail travel in the UK, and while improvements are continually made, incidents like today’s serve as a reminder of the need for continued investment and modernization in the country’s rail system. For now, passengers are advised to avoid Waterloo where possible and explore other travel options to complete their journeys.

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Tags: london waterloo, national rail, signalling failure, Travel Disruption, Travel News, UK Travel Warning

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