South West Trains/Network Rail Alliance says funding for Waterloo is good news for passengers

Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of the South West Trains/Network Rail Alliance today (16 July) welcomed the announcement by the Government to fund capacity enhancements at London Waterloo through a £350m scheme to extend platforms.

Mr Shoveller said: “We welcome today’s news that the Government has given the go-ahead to lengthen platforms and open up the international station at Waterloo for commuters by allocating £350 million to this crucial scheme. Waterloo is already one of the busiest stations in the UK with over 90 million passengers using it every year and this is set to grow.

“The funding announced today means that we will be able to run longer trains on our suburban routes as well as on the South West Main Line. We have already announced plans to introduce 108 extra carriages by December 2014 and the further investment into London Waterloo will help to boost capacity even further.

“The number of passengers we are attracting to our rail services has doubled in the past 15 years and this is set to grow. Today’s announcement is great news for our passengers and will help to provide extra capacity for the 200 million customers who travel on our network every year.”

For more information about South West Trains, visit www.southwesttrains.co.uk.