Easter Rail Works to Disrupt Services for Passengers
South Western Railway upgrading track near Clapham Junction
Some trains will terminate early and services are cancelled on Easter Sunday. Picture: SWR
March 6, 2026
Passengers travelling from local stations face significant disruption over the Easter weekend as Network Rail carries out major track upgrades between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction. The works, running from Friday 3 April to Monday 6 April, will reduce services into central London and alter routes across the South Western Railway network.
Engineers will be replacing heavily used switches and crossings outside platforms 20–24 at Waterloo, as well as strengthening the railway bridge over Lambeth Road. Additional work at Clapham Junction will see scaffolding installed beneath the footbridge serving platforms 3–6, part of a longer-term upgrade of one of the station’s busiest walkways.
The Hounslow Loop will be one of the routes affected by the closure mean revised services at stations such as Kew Bridge, Chiswick, Brentford and Syon Lane
On Friday, Saturday and Monday, trains that normally run between Waterloo and stations on the loop will start and finish at Clapham Junction, meaning Chiswick passengers travelling into central London will need to change at Clapham Junction for onward services.
The most severe disruption comes on Sunday 5 April, when the line closure extends as far as Barnes. On that day services on the loop will operate only between Kingston and Barnes.
Replacement buses will run between Clapham Junction and Barnes, calling at Wandsworth Town and Putney, but will not serve Chiswick, meaning passengers will need to travel via Barnes or use alternative routes such as Gunnersbury (London Overground/District line).
On Friday, Saturday and Monday, passengers heading to Waterloo on Reading and Windsor services must change at Clapham Junction. On Sunday 5 April, services will be diverted via Wimbledon and Twickenham.
Putney will still have trains on Friday, Saturday and Mondon, but with a reduced service because many Waterloo-bound services will terminate at Clapham Junction.
On Sunday 5 April, Putney will have no train service at all because the line between Clapham Junction and Barnes will be closed. Instead replacement buses will run between Clapham Junction and Barnes, calling at Putney. Passengers travelling towards Waterloo will need to take the bus to Clapham Junction and change there. Those travelling towards Richmond or Kingston will need to take the bus to Barnes and change to loop services.
Queenstown Road (Battersea) station will be closed throughout the works. Services towards Woking and Basingstoke will continue to run, though passengers are advised to check for additional disruption caused by separate engineering work in the Eastleigh and Honiton areas.
Network Rail said the upgrades are essential to maintain reliability at Waterloo, the busiest station in the country used exclusively by National Rail services. George Murrell, Route Renewals Director, said passengers should check before travelling as “services from London Waterloo are changing over the Easter weekend” and the switches and crossings being replaced “need to be renewed over time”.
Passengers are advised to check their journeys in advance using SWR’s journey planner at southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey.
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