A major signalling failure at London’s Waterloo station is expected to continue causing disruption tonight after a long day of commuter chaos.
Fourteen platforms at one of London’s busiest train stations were out of use after issues were first reported to National Rail around 5.30am on Monday.
The group warned that major disruption is expected until the end of the day as South Western Railways urged customers “do not travel this morning”.
In a statement on X, the railway operator said: “Engineers are on sit attempting to restore the use of the platforms, but with very few trains able to move in and out of London Waterloo and crew already displaced, services across the network are severely disrupted.”
They added that while they were hoping to restore some services later on Monday, they would still likely be subject to delays and alterations.
The operator said that the equipment that routes trains in and out of the station failed and caused services across its whole network to suffer cancellations, delays and revisions.
All lines have since reopened, but customers have found their journeys disrupted as the operator got back on its feet.
SWR said: “Following a major signalling problem at London Waterloo this morning, we are advising customers to check before travelling.
“We expect to provide a reasonable service for the afternoon and evening peak on our suburban routes, and our routes into Reading and Winsdor & Eton Riverside. Some delays and cancellations are likely to continue, so please check before you travel.
The statement concludedL “Despite our best efforts, restoring services on our long-distance routes to Exeter St Davids, Portsmouth and Weymouth is proving more difficult, due to trains and their crews being out of position. Please check your journey carefully, as significant disruption on these routes is expected until the end of the day.”
Due to the level of disruption, any unused tickets will be valid for Tuesday.
Tickets are also being accepted Great Western Railway services between Salisbury, Westbury, Weymouth and Reading, CrossCountry services between Reading and Bournemouth, and Southern services between London Victoria, Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central.
The London Underground has not been affected by the incident, with trains operating as usual.
Taking to social media, angry customers have complained of the situation being a “total shambles” while another said they were “totally disgusted and distraught”.
One person wrote: “Rush hour chaos strikes again. Signal failures at a key station like Waterloo show how fragile our transport system can be. Let’s hope lessons are learned and long-term fixes prioritized—not just patchwork solutions.”
Another passenger said: “Waterloo station looks a nightmare.”
SWR – the first operator brought into public ownership by the Labour Government in May – apologised for the disruption. A second train company, Operator c2c, which runs services between London Fenchurch Street and south Essex, was nationalised by Labour on Sunday.
It follows several days of disruption at Waterloo with platforms 1 to 14 also out of use for several hours on Saturday due to a signalling failure.