Train safety issue means cancelled and reduced services between Portsmouth and London Waterloo

TRAIN services have been cancelled and reduced due to a number of carriages being removed from use over safety problems.
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South Western Railway has withdrawn Class 442 trains and as a result, services have been cancelled or reduced temporarily.

A statement on the SWR website read: ‘Due to a safety issue, we are temporarily withdrawing the Class 442 trains from service as a precautionary measure.

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‘The issue involves the way the units interact with certain line side signals.

South Western Railway. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA WireSouth Western Railway. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA Wire
South Western Railway. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA Wire

‘We appreciate how inconvenient this will be to passengers on these trains and we will work to reintroduce the Class 442s back into service as quickly as possible.‘We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.’

The company are now working with Network Rail to resolve the issue but have had to cancel the 6.28am Southampton Airport Parkway to London Waterloo and the 6.48pm London Waterloo to Poole service.

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The firm said to avoid cancelling further services completely ‘it will be necessary’ to temporarily reduce the length of the following services:

- 6.51am Southampton Airport Parkway to Waterloo

- 7.47am Woking – Waterloo

- 8.05am Waterloo – Weymouth

- 8.30am Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour

- 10.45 Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo

- 1pm Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour

- 2.15pm Waterloo – Haslemere

- 3.15pm Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo

- 3.37pm Haslemere – Waterloo

- 5.02pm Waterloo – Guildford

- 5.30pm Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour

- 7.02pm Waterloo – FarnhamAn additional stop will be placed on the 6.39pm London Waterloo to Fareham train to serve Micheldever.

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