ONE of the most complex engineering projects for a century at Waterloo Station, which could cause queues outside stations including Basingstoke and waiting times of up to 30 minutes, has got underway.

Work began on Saturday morning at the station where ten platforms are now shut for the next three-and-a-half weeks to make room for the work.

Over the next 24 days, 1,000 Network Rail staff will be working shifts 24 hours-a-day to build extensions onto platforms 1-4, and to modify platforms 5-8, so that longer, modern trains can run from December 2017.

As a result, significantly fewer trains are being run across the South West Trains railway network so passengers are being warned of significant disruptions to journeys and potential queues outside stations..

Margaret Kay, managing director for South West Trains, said: “We’ll continue to work closely with Network Rail to keep our customers informed on their travel over the coming weeks whilst this work takes place. We’ll also be doing everything we can to help reduce the impact on passengers, including providing longer trains throughout the day and having extra staff on hand to help.”

The work in August is all part of the £800 million Waterloo & South West Upgrade which will ultimately provide space for 45,000 extra passengers every morning and every evening to and from Waterloo.

Becky Lumlock, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “But before we arrive there, passengers travelling into Waterloo will face severe disruption over the next three and a half weeks – we are doing all we can to manage the impact on our passengers, and we thank them for their patience during this time.

“This is going to have a significant impact on services so, as we’ve been doing since last summer, I’d like to remind all passengers to plan ahead by considering travelling at different times of day, working from home or taking holiday where possible.”

Full information for passengers on how journeys are being impacted can be found at southwesttrains.co.uk/wswupgrade.