Flood damage to a railway bridge near Feltham is continuing to cause significant disruption to some South West Trains services as rail lines remain closed between Feltham and Whitton and between Feltham and Hounslow.

South West Trains apologises to customers for any inconvenience caused and has in place contingency plans to ensure as little disruption as possible for passengers travelling on the routes from Reading to Waterloo via Staines and from Windsor to Waterloo via Staines.

Trains are able to operate as normal between Reading and Feltham. There, passengers will be transferred by replacement bus service to Twickenham where they will continue their journey by rail to London Waterloo. Those travelling this route are, however, advised to expect journey times of around 45 minutes longer than normal.

Passengers travelling between Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell and Waterloo are advised to travel via Reading and London Paddington on First Great Western services, on which their tickets will be accepted.

A Network Rail spokesperson said:

“The railway bridge over the River Crane on the southern edge of Hounslow Heath was damaged over the weekend after heavy rainfall caused the river to swell.  Early indications suggest that the increased speed and turbulence of the river washed away some of the foundations of the 100-year-old bridge, damaging the main arch.  Network Rail technicians and divers are on site to assess the structure and plans will be put in place to carry out repairs so the railway can be reopened as quickly as possible.

“No trains will be able to cross the bridge until the repairs have been carried out.  Alternative travel arrangements have been put in place so passengers can continue to make their journeys.”

The line between Twickenham, Whitton and Hounslow remains open.

UPDATE 19th November

South West Trains today (Thursday 19 November) announced that it expects to be able to offer passengers affected by the flood-damaged bridge near Feltham an improved rail service at some point next week.

Network Rail engineers assessing the extensively damaged bridge structure are currently working on a temporary solution which is expected to allow a limited through service in the area sometime next week.

In the meantime, passengers are asked to note that:

• Rail lines remain closed between Feltham and Whitton and between Feltham and Hounslow, affecting the routes from Reading to Waterloo via Staines and from Windsor to Waterloo via Staines
• Alternative arrangements currently in place on weekdays will continue into next week until the Network Rail temporary solution is in place.
• Revised weekend services are in place for Saturday 21 November and Sunday 22 November.
• Special travel advice is in place for rugby fans travelling to the England v New Zealand international at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 21 November 2009.

South West Trains Managing Director Andy Pitt said: “The damaged bridge at Feltham has severely disrupted rail services in the Feltham area and we would like to apologise to our customers for the significant disruption they have experienced.

“We have been working hard around the clock, in partnership with our colleagues at Network Rail, to deliver the most comprehensive service we can. We have also been working to identify the best and quickest temporary solution for our passengers until the bridge itself can be repaired.

“Network Rail have now advised us that they hope to have a temporary solution in place next week that will allow us to improve the service we can deliver. I would like to thank our customers for their patience and our staff for their hard work during what has been a very difficult situation for everyone.”