South Western Railway has authorised passengers to book their own taxi and claim the fare, after a police incident closed the lines between Woking and Brookwood.
Six stations
The authorisation names the journeys. A passenger may book a taxi between London Waterloo and Woking, Guildford, Alton, Basingstoke, Salisbury or Southampton Central.
"Due to disruption between Woking and Brookwood, our customers are authorised to book their own taxi to travel between London Waterloo and Woking / Guildford / Alton / Basingstoke / Salisbury / Southampton Central."
A claim needs full contact details, the time and date, the stations, a description of what happened, and copies of the train ticket and the taxi receipt. It has to be in within 28 days. Smartcard customers need to have tapped in and tapped out. Evening Standard report
On the railway’s claim page, an authorised taxi is normally station to station. A journey to or from a home or workplace is not normally reimbursed unless the circumstances are exceptional and the passenger supplies supporting information. The receipt has to show the company name, the time of travel, the pickup and destination, and the fare. A passenger who arrived 15 minutes or more late can claim Delay Repay separately. If staff told someone to find a hotel, that is a separate claim. SWR disruption claims
The same passenger notice said tickets would be accepted at no extra cost on Great Western Railway services between London Paddington and Exeter St Davids, and between Reading and Basingstoke.
The line
National Rail recorded the incident at 4.28pm on Thursday 22 October and cleared it at 3.57am on Friday. The 3.58am update said the disruption had ended. The routes listed as affected run from London Waterloo as far as Exeter St Davids, Weymouth and Portsmouth Harbour. That list is the train service. National Rail Brookwood incident
Earlier notices, kept in the Mirror’s live report, said all lines between Woking and Brookwood were closed, and that trains between Woking and Ash Vale or Basingstoke might be cancelled, revised, or delayed by up to 120 minutes. Shortly before 2.30am the expected delay was put at 60 minutes, with major disruption expected until 6am. The railway has not said what the police were dealing with.
Replacement buses were to start from Woking at about 6.50pm, with a limited service from Basingstoke and Southampton Central before 7pm. Some of those buses were delayed in local traffic. Mirror Waterloo recap