Kingston Rail Passengers Face Four Days of Engineering Disruption

Rail passengers in the Kingston area of south west London are being urged to check their journeys in advance as a series of engineering works will alter services between Saturday 14 February and Tuesday 17 February. Network Rail says the programme is essential to maintaining the reliability of the route.

Throughout the four-day period, buses will replace trains between New Malden and Twickenham. Over the weekend, the Shepperton branch will also be affected while engineers carry out renewal work to the track support system on Kingston River Bridge. The improvements are designed to strengthen the infrastructure, improve reliability and reduce the need for future maintenance.

On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 February, buses will operate between New Malden, Shepperton and Twickenham. On Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 February, rail replacement services will continue between New Malden and Twickenham. Trains on the Shepperton line will still run on those two days but will be diverted via Twickenham and will not call at stations on the Kingston Loop.

With the railway closed, additional maintenance tasks will also be completed. This includes work to the signalling Shacklegate in Teddington following the completion of the Feltham and Wokingham Area Resignalling Programme. Engineers will demolish redundant signalling equipment buildings at Strawberry Hill and Shepperton, and renew the level crossing surface at Hampton. Network Rail says the combined programme will help keep the railway safe and dependable for passengers.

Speaking on behalf of Network Rail and South Western Railway, George Murrell, Wessex Route Renewals Director, said:

“We’re asking passengers to plan ahead during the February half term, as buses will replace trains on parts of the network in south west London. We’d like to thank customers for their patience while this work takes place.”

Image: Network Rail