South Western Railway services fully restored after diesel problems
Enhanced maintenance on the affected trains has allowed services to gradually come back into service
Last updated 14th Jun 2024
South Western Railway's diesel trains are fully back into service today across the West of England and performing 'as normal' after a diesel problem was rectified by the train operator.
The issue is stull under investigation, but 'enhanced' maintenance programs on the affected trains has allowed services in the Basingstoke, Exeter, Romsey, Salisbury and Yeovil areas to gradually resume.
Last Friday (April 21), an amended timetable was put into operation after a diesel problem caused a myriad of issues, meaning trains in the Basingstoke, Exeter, Romsey, Salisbury and Yeovil areas weren't running as regular as usual.
SWR say the problem caused fuel filters to become blocked, meaning the trains couldn't accelerate as they usually can - and crucially meant they couldn't reach top speed either.
Fuel tanks at their depot, which provide 35,000 litres of fuel to the diesel fleet every day, have been deep cleaned and are also using fresh fuel.
Earlier this week, a gradual reintroduction of services across our region started happening.
On Tuesday 25, hourly services between Salisbury and Southampton Central via Romsey were reinstated.
That was followed by direct services from Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids on Wednesday 26.
On Thursday 27, some direct services from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids were restored ahead of the full timetable being reinstated on Friday 28.
Neil Drury, SWR’s Engineering Director, said: “We’re sorry for the disruption that customers in the Basingstoke, Exeter, Romsey, Salisbury and Yeovil areas have felt since last Friday. It was a difficult decision to amend our timetables and we have worked hard to restore services as quickly as we can.
“We have taken a number of steps to mitigate the problem, which we believe is related to the contamination of diesel fuel. Many of our trains have returned to the levels of performance that we expect and while there is still work to do, we are pleased to be able to restore the full timetable on Friday 28.
“Once again we’re very sorry for the disruption and grateful for the continued patience of our customers."
Chris Loder, Member of Parliament for West Dorset, said: “It's been a tough week for train users locally and throughout the whole line. But I’ve been engaging closely with SWR to find a prompt solution and am pleased they have worked quickly to restore a full service in time for the bank holiday weekend.”
Journey planners are up to date and customers can check their journeys on the South Western Railway website.