The company which took over the old South West Trains franchise less than a year ago was set to reopen the old Waterloo International platforms used by Eurostar to increase the number of trains serving Europe’s busiest railway station – and make use of longer platforms with more carriages.
The timetable overhaul planned for the end of the year has now been scaled back amid fears of a repeat of the chaos seen in May.
The introduction of a new schedule caused choas on many trains travelling through the capital to the South Coast from the North Home Counties.
Timetable changes for eight franchises, including Govia Thameslink Railway and Northern, whose operations descended into chaos in May, have been postponed.
Now other franchises – including SWR – will introduce only minor timetable changes in December.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said a ‘more cautious approach’ took into account ‘recent painful lessons.’
RDG chief executive Paul Plummer said: “In parts of the country, many people have suffered unacceptable disruption following the introduction of the new timetable in May for which we are sincerely sorry.
“The industry is determined to learn the lessons from what went wrong.”
He said train operators would concentrate on making sure passengers enjoyed a ‘reliable service’ instead.
Other operators, who will not now make changes to their existing timetable, include Cross Country, Great Western Railway, London Overground, and West Midlands Trains.
In what was billed as the biggest-ever overhaul of rail timetables in May, the switches led to widespread disruption. The upgrade was aimed at boosting capacity and improving punctuality – but instead resulted in a huge number of services being severely delayed, or simply cancelled.
The Transport Select Committee is investigating reasons for the disruption and is asking for evidence from passengers and rail industry groups.
Timetables are usually changed twice a year, in summer and winter, but normally on a much smaller scale.
The Rail Delivery Group said December’s changes would now be on a similar scale to ‘the smaller changes of recent years.’
South Western Railways said it was ‘disappointed’ the major timetable change, which would have led to more capacity to relieve overcrowding on rush-hour services, has been put off.
“The decision was taken at a national level that a period of stability is needed,” a spokesman said.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of passenger watchdog Transport Focus, said the announcement was a ‘pragmatic step to help maintain a more dependable service.’
But he warned: “Long-suffering passengers who have put up with much inconvenience, will be disappointed that promised improvements may be delivered more slowly.”