Passengers are likely to face continued disruption at one of London’s busiest train stations as services return following a major signalling failure.
Fourteen platforms at London Waterloo were out of use after issues were first reported to National Rail around 5.30am.
The group warned that major disruption is expected until the end of the day.
— SWR Help (@SW_Help) July 21, 2025
South Western Railway (SWR) issued a “do not travel” notice in the morning, with updated advice asking customers to check before travelling.
According to the operator, 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 reopened following the mechanism being fixed.
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.
“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.”
National Rail advised that tickets will be accepted at no extra cost on a number of bus and train services.
Passengers can travel on specified routes with London Buses, Falcon Buses, Stagecoach South, and Morebus operators as well as certain train journeys on the Tube and with CrossCountry, Southern, Great Western Railway and Thameslink.
Any unused Monday-dated tickets will be valid for travel on Tuesday.
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.
