On Saturday 7 November Portsmouth trains via Guildford skip Woking. On Sunday 8 November stoppers end at Weybridge, with buses on to Woking and Guildford.

The railway west of Woking closes for the weekend of Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, and the town’s own station is caught up in it. South Western Railway has published the plan on its November engineering works page. The lines in the Basingstoke area will be “closed all weekend due to maintenance work”.

It is a busy weekend to lose trains. Saturday 7 November is the night of the Woking Park fireworks and the Knaphill display. Sunday 8 November is Remembrance Sunday.

Saturday 7 November

Trains between London and Woking keep running. SWR says additional services will run between London Waterloo and Woking. Beyond Woking, the picture changes:

  • Portsmouth trains via Guildford will not call at Woking. They call additionally at Surbiton instead, and some terminate at Guildford.
  • Basingstoke stopping trains start from Farnborough, so they do not reach Woking or Brookwood.
  • Alton trains start from Guildford, calling additionally at Wanborough and Ash.
  • Waterloo to Woking stopping trains run to a revised timetable.
  • Guildford to Farnham trains do not run.

Replacement buses run from Woking:

  • to Guildford and Basingstoke
  • to Guildford and Basingstoke via Worplesdon
  • to Farnborough via Brookwood
  • to Aldershot via Brookwood and Ash Vale

For anyone heading into Woking for the fireworks from London, the train still works. From Brookwood it means a bus. From Guildford, the Portsmouth line trains will not stop at Woking, and SWR’s notice does not say what other Guildford to Woking trains run that day.

Sunday 8 November

Sunday is the harder day. SWR’s notice lists these changes for Woking’s routes:

  • Waterloo to Guildford stopping trains via Woking terminate at Weybridge.
  • Waterloo to Woking trains via Staines are diverted after Addlestone and also terminate at Weybridge.
  • Waterloo to Basingstoke stopping trains do not run.
  • Waterloo to Portsmouth trains are diverted between Clapham Junction and Guildford, calling additionally at Surbiton.
  • Alton trains run hourly and start from Guildford.
  • Ascot to Guildford trains terminate at Aldershot.

None of the train services in the Sunday list is shown calling at Woking. Every Woking journey the notice describes is by bus. Replacement buses run between Weybridge and Woking, and from Weybridge via Woking to Guildford, to Aldershot and to Basingstoke. Buses also run from Woking to Winchester and to Andover, both via Guildford and Basingstoke.

(South Western Railway, November engineering work)

What it means for you

  • Going to the fireworks on Saturday? From London, take the train as normal. From Brookwood, allow for a replacement bus each way. From Guildford or Worplesdon, check the journey planner first: replacement buses run on both routes. Our parking guide has the town centre car parks.
  • Travelling to London on Sunday? Expect a bus to Weybridge before you reach a train. Allow extra time, especially for a morning Remembrance service or event in London.
  • Heading west on either day? Basingstoke, Winchester and Andover journeys involve replacement buses.
  • Check before you travel. SWR’s notice does not say which fast trains, if any, will stop at Woking on the Sunday. For its other closures this autumn, SWR has said journey planners are updated on the Friday night for the Saturday and on the Saturday night for the Sunday.

The weekends before

The Staines lines also close on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October and on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. On those Sundays, Waterloo to Woking trains via Staines terminate at Hounslow. The details, with this week’s road closures, are on our Woking roadworks and travel page.

Sources