Commuters at London Waterloo faced severe disruption on Thursday night after a police incident closed all railway lines between Woking and Brookwood, leaving trains cancelled or delayed by up to 120 minutes.
Police incident shuts lines
National Rail announced shortly before 10pm on October 22 that all lines were closed between Woking and Brookwood due to police activity. The statement said: "The police are dealing with an incident between Woking and Brookwood meaning that all lines are closed. As a result, trains running between Woking and Ash Vale / Basingstoke may be cancelled or severely delayed by up to 120 minutes or revised."
Services through London Waterloo, one of the busiest stations in the UK, were brought to a standstill. Passengers reported overcrowding, with some at Wimbledon being prevented from accessing platforms.
Replacement transport and refunds
Buses were arranged to run from Woking, Basingstoke and Southampton Central. National Rail confirmed: "We will also look to arrange replacement transport due to the disruption this incident is causing, so buses have been confirmed and will start running from about 6:50pm from Woking and also a limited bus service from Basingstoke and Southampton Central before 7pm, please speak to station staff for updates on this and where buses will be going towards."
South Western Railway noted that some buses were delayed due to local traffic and that passengers could use local buses at no extra cost in some areas. The operator also authorised customers to book taxis for travel between London Waterloo and Woking, Guildford, Alton, Basingstoke, Salisbury, or Southampton Central, with fares claimable.
Passenger frustration and emergency response
One passenger took to X, saying: "Please can you tell me if the line is open yet. I've been at Waterloo since 4.30 with so much misinformation please tell me me when any train via Basingstoke (as I’m going to Eastleigh) may actually leave thanks." A South Western Railway assistant replied that the line "is still blocked."
The Mirror reported a large emergency service presence near the railway line in Woking, with a source saying "three fire engines, two police cars and two ambulances still in attendance." The reason for the police incident has not yet been clarified.
