The operator has announced several changes to its usual schedule, including an early finish on Christmas Eve and no service on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
The changes, aimed at improving the reliability of the railway, will affect commuters and festive travellers alike.
These engineering works include upgrades to the track, switches and crossings, signalling systems, and electrical supplies.
One specific improvement will be the platforms at Queenstown Road (Battersea).
All these enhancements are set to ensure fewer faults, fewer delays, and smoother, more reliable journeys for customers upon completion.
SWR’s amended timetable on Christmas Eve will see services winding down earlier than usual, around 10pm, with the Island Line services ending before 9pm.
Travellers are advised to check their journeys and be mindful of the last trains of the day.
No SWR trains will be running on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, but most services will recommence across the rest of the network on December 27.
Nevertheless, services on this date, and December 28, won’t run between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.
A different timetable will be in place, with journeys starting and finishing at Clapham Junction.
Customers heading to and from affected regions could benefit from connecting with Transport for London services at Richmond and Wimbledon, or connecting with GWR services at Basingstoke, and travelling to Reading for onward services to London Paddington.
Those travelling on December 29 and December 30 should note that services passing through Barnes will also start and finish at Clapham Junction.
Vauxhall and Queenstown Road (Battersea) stations will be closed, and a scaled-back service will operate on routes via Wimbledon.
A separate timetable will operate on New Year’s Eve, with all trains running via Barnes beginning and concluding at Clapham Junction.
There will also be several small changes to services via Wimbledon.
To accommodate New Year’s Eve revelers, extra trains will run from London Waterloo to Basingstoke, Guildford, and Twickenham (via Kingston and Wimbledon) between approximately 1am and 5am.
The reduced service will continue through January 1.
Between January 2 and January 4, journeys via Barnes will end or begin at Clapham Junction, while services heading to Woking and Reading will be affected by separate engineering work on Sunday 4 January.
Stuart Meek, chief operating officer of South Western Railway and Network Rail (Wessex), said: “If you’re planning to travel with us over the Christmas period, please visit our website and use our journey planner to check your journey now.
“There will be major changes through to the new year, particularly for services to and from London Waterloo via Barnes, and on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December, when there are no trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.
“Tens of millions of customers travel on our lines between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction every year, and once this vital engineering work is complete, they can expect a more reliable railway and smoother journeys for years to come.”
