Today I'm welcoming a significant step forward in my campaign for longer rush-hour trains at Earlsfield, following Network Rail's confirmation of work to extend the platforms at Waterloo station.
Construction at Waterloo will take one year with a planned start date this November. The project will extend platforms 1-4 to allow longer trains to stop there, in addition to upgrading the area around the station and creating five new platforms from the former Eurostar Terminal. This news comes after confirmation last year that South West Trains are procuring 150 new carriages to cater for longer trains, following pressure from myself and Stephen Hammond MP for Wimbledon.
We will be writing to Network Rail and Southwest Trains to clarify the timeline for the works, and to ensure that they do all in their power to minimise disruption to commuters during the construction period. At this stage however, it looks like we will see a significant roll-out of longer trains in 2017.
Rush hour over-crowding is a huge problem at Earlsfield station, so it is fantastic that our campaign for longer trains is one step closer to success. I want to thank all local residents who signed up to the campaign and I’m glad their voice is being heard. However, speed is of the essence and I will continue to work hard on this until longer trains have truly arrived.