More Trains, Longer Trains Promised For Rail Users
£800 million pound investment in Waterloo will benefit local commuters
Mockup of new class 707 train on display at Waterloo concourse: image @se1
Yesterday (23rd March) a programme of investment in Waterloo station and the rail services to and from the station worth more than £800 million over the next three years was announced.
A spokesperson for Network Rail told this website that this would benefit residents of Putney and Wandsworth:
"The investment of over £800million, being delivered between now and 2018, will mean more frequent services, new and longer trains and improved facilities for passengers."
Stephen Luxford, Convenor of the Transport Panel, Putney Society said: “The old Eurostar platforms have been empty for too long so its good news for passengers from Putney that they are finally going to be brought back into use.
Once this work is finished people using Putney station should enjoy both new trains and more services into and out of Waterloo”.
A £210 million fleet of new trains start arriving in 2017 and will run between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside, many of which will stop at Putney and Wandsworth Town. The Siemens built Class 707 trains include free WiFi, more spacious and open carriages and state-of-the-art passenger information.
Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman, 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 continued: "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."