Portsmouth trains: Impact of "unexpected" problem on South Western Railway networked revealed as alert given

An alert was published last night (December 12) stating that passengers would most likely have to deal with a wave of cancellations and delays. The company previously said this was due to an “unexpected” shortage of train crew, and that this would impact the entire network including the direct Portsmouth route to London and other areas.

They apologised for any inconvenience caused to commuters. “Due to an unexpected shortage of train crew, we expect there to be cancellations to services across our network on Friday, December 13,” they said. “Journey planners will be updated in the early hours of Friday 13.” They added: “We’re very sorry for the disruption. Please check back for updates.”

The News understands the reduced staffing numbers were due to many staff members at the SWR depot in Bournemouth taking becoming unwell. This meant that fewer drivers and guards were available to run the number of trains previously allocated.

Sign Up for Portsmouth News Newsletters

This had caused some services to be cancelled, causing frustration among commuters. The majority of these problems were felt on the route between Weymouth in Dorset and Southampton Central. SWR will be unable to run trains between Lymington and Brockenhurst from 6pm tonight until the end of service. There was an earlier fault with a train at Woking, but this has since been resolved. There are also alterations to trains between Grateley and Salisbury, and at Wareham.

SWR said they are working hard to minimise the impact this will have on passengers, with the company expecting less disruption than first thought when the initial alert was made. Passengers are advised to keep an eye on their journey planners online, which are fully up to date. Customers are also encouraged to check the updates before they travel.

SWR is due to be returned to the public sector in May 2025. At the time, South West Trains ran the first ran the first privatised service of the modern era in 1996.