£800 Million Investment To Benefit Local Commuters
More and longer trains promised for rail users
Mockup of new class 707 train on display at Waterloo concourse: image @se1
A programme of investment in Waterloo and the rail services to and from the station will benefit commuters in Chiswick and Brentford, with an extra six trains a day planned on the Hounslow Loop, possibly starting next year.
The new Class 707s trains are part of the £800m Network Rail investment, and will travel on the Hounslow Loop as well as the 'direct' link to Windsor & Eton Riverside. There will be an extra four trains in the morning on the Hounslow to Waterloo route and an extra two trains from Waterloo to Hounslow in the evenings, operated by South West Trains.
A £210 million fleet of new trains will start arriving in 2017. The Siemens-built Class 707 trains include free WiFi, more spacious and open carriages and state-of-the-art passenger information.
Asked how the investment would benefit local commuters, a spokesman for the train company said; "I am pleased to confirm that Chiswick and Brentford and others on the Hounslow loop are among the biggest beneficiaries of this investment. When the investment is completed there will be an extra four trains in the morning - Hounslow to Waterloo and an extra 2 trains Waterloo to Hounslow in the evenings."
The extra services between Hounslow and Waterloo in the morning and evening peak periods. will mean sigificant more capacity and more seats in the morning and evening. Commuters regularly complain about overcrowding on the rush-hour trains.
In the morning the extra four trains are expected to arrive into Waterloo between 8-9am - that's a doubling of the current offering. The actual timetables will not be published until much closer to the time.
Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail, pictured left, said, “This is the biggest package of improvements for passengers travelling to and from Waterloo for decades. It will provide passengers with a better station, extra seats and new trains. And let’s face it, this is not before time. Since 1996, the numbers of passengers on routes into Waterloo have more than doubled - rising from 108 million passenger journeys a year to over 230 million. And this increase is showing no sign of slowing down.
“As part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail is investing £40 billion to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers across Britain. The plans announced today will create a bigger, better Waterloo and improve passengers’ journeys on our most congested part of Britain’s railway. They are a long way from being the complete answer to the peak time congestion on this packed commuter route, but they will make a big difference.”
The Network Rail spokesman also said, "Work to rebuild the former Waterloo International Terminal will create significantly improved facilities for passengers as well as improving the infrastructure to allow more trains to run to Reading and Windsor."
April 6, 2016