Commuters on the South West Trains lines can expect long waits at stations during the London Waterloo upgrade.

From August 5 to 28, platforms one to 10 will close while Network Rail engineers extend and modify platforms to accommodate longer trains.

Fewer trains will run while the work is undertaken, which could make stations much busier than normal, causing passengers to have to wait longer for their trains.

Becky Lumlock, route managing director at Network Rail, said: “Doing major improvement work is always disruptive, so we’re providing these estimates on waiting times to make sure that passengers have everything they need to plan ahead. At the same time, we’re also continuing to advise passengers to travel earlier or later than normal to avoid the busiest times of day, or to consider working from home where possible.”

“I fully appreciate there’s never a good time to close any section of the railway, but we’ll be doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible, and passengers will see extra staff at stations who will be on hand to provide information and advice.”

The estimated waiting times are as follows.

Waterloo: 30 minutes

Vauxhall: 30 minutes

Clapham Junction: 45 minutes

Wimbledon: 30 minutes

Esher: 30 to 60 minutes

Hersham: 30-60 minutes

Weybridge: 20 minutes

Worcester Park: 20 minutes

Walton-on-Thames: 20 minutes

Woking: 20 minutes