'Smoke on tracks' triggers delays at major London station as passengers face delays amid safety inspection

London Waterloo

Passengers are facing delays as a safety inspection is underway following 'smoke on tracks' at a London train station

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Fintan Starkey

By Fintan Starkey


Published: 26/05/2026

- 10:56

Updated: 26/05/2026

- 11:25

Trains are being forced to run at a slower speed to accommodate the inspection

Passengers at London's Waterloo Station have been warned they face severe disruption after reports of smoke on the tracks.

South Western Railway confirmed that some of its services leaving Waterloo were being forced to run slower than usual amid a safety inspection taking place.


The train company said that “smoke was reported on the track” between Waterloo and Vauxhall.

Passengers have been warned of delays on services to and from London Waterloo and Guildford, Woking, Chessington South, Dorking, Hampton Court, Shepperton, and Strawberry Hill.

A number of services scheduled to run in the afternoon and early evening have been cancelled.

Journeys will be affected between London Waterloo and Weymouth via Winchester, Southampton, and Bournemouth.

Some services between Exeter St Davids, Salisbury, and London Waterloo are set to be affected, stopping early and only travelling as far as Basingstoke.

London Waterloo

Passengers are set to face disruption today at London Waterloo

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National Rail has also warned that Elizabeth line services between London Liverpool Street and Stratford will face delays throughout the afternoon.

Eastbound services that would usually run from platform 17 at London Liverpool Street to Gidea Park have been cancelled.

Heatwave

South Western Railway have also limited services throughout the afternoon in hops of stopping disruption due to the heat

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Passengers have been advised that if they want to travel eastbound, they should use Shenfield services from the low-level platform A.

In a statement, SWR said: “Response teams have been advised and are on their way, but there is no estimated time of arrival at the moment.”