COMMUTERS are facing a week of disruption thanks to a points failure on the railway line close to Wokingham station: as a result, trains will only be running on the Waterloo line and there is no service from Reading to Gatwick Airport.
The crack means that the points can only be in one direction, and Network Rail decided to set them for London Waterloo to ensure that route is kept operational, but all stations between Wokingham and Redhill will not be served.
Trains between Wokingham and Reading and Wokingham and London Waterloo will see less disruption. South Western Railway is running an amended train service between Reading and Wokingham to/from Staines and London Waterloo
For the week ahead, a number of replacements will be set up.
Passengers can use any reasonable route on South Western Railway or Great Western Railway routes, if applicable. These reasonable routes are between Reading and Farnborough or Guildford via Basingstoke, or between London Waterloo and Dorking.
Train users looking to get to Gatwick Airport should use a service from London Victoria and Great Western Railway rail tickets will be accepted for these journeys.
As part of this, London Underground will let passengers use their tickets between London Paddington and London Victoria via London Waterloo in both directions until further notice.
And for passengers looking to travel from Reading and Blackwater or Guildford, a replacement bus service will be in operation.
For Sunday, March 4, the line between Reading and Gatwick Airport was closed due to severe weather conditions. First Great Western said that it was unable to use taxis or buses as road conditions were not safe for road transport to be used as an alternative.
GWR tickets will be valid on other services as below
- South Western Railway are conveying passengers between Reading and Farnborough or Guildford via Basingstoke, also between London Waterloo and Dorking.
- Southern Railway are conveying passengers between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport in both directions until further notice.
- London Underground are conveying passengers between London Paddington and London Victoria via London Waterloo in both directions until further notice.
- If you are travelling between Reading and Wokingham you are advised to travel with South Western Railway.
- If you are travelling between Reading and Blackwater replacement road transport is running hourly in each direction between Reading and Guildford for onward connections.
- GWR is operating an hourly local stopping train service between Blackwater and Redhill.
For more on the changes, log on to Network Rail’s website
