We're asking the UK Government, the Mayor of London and Transport for London to fund and deliver full modern signalling between East Putney and Wimbledon — and publish a funded plan with a timetable. Not another patch: a permanent fix.

Thousands of passengers rely on the Wimbledon branch every day. It still runs on signalling dating back to the 1980s. When that signalling fails, delays spread along the whole District line.

The central District line is being modernised. Our branch was not. In 2020, TfL's Programmes and Investment Committee decided not to re-signal this branch — along with the Richmond and Ealing Broadway branches — a decision restated in July 2021 and June 2024.

TfL confirms the new signalling stops short of us — "the 4LM project is replacing the signalling system as far as East Putney station" — and that there are "no plans currently for future modernisation".

The planned automatic-operation overlay for the branch was dropped as "unjustifiable at the present time in view of the lower traffic density and the complications arising from joint running with other operators". That was a choice made under the circumstances of the time — not a conclusion that modernisation was impossible. Those circumstances have since changed: South Western Railway has been publicly owned since 25 May 2025.

The ownership excuse no longer holds. SWR is publicly owned, TfL owns the line and Network Rail maintains the signalling. Delivering a permanent fix now requires these public bodies to agree and act.

The Government's £2.17bn capital settlement for TfL already supports "its planned programme of high priority rolling stock and signalling procurements". The Government is therefore already funding TfL's wider capital and signalling programme. It should now ensure that the Wimbledon branch is included in a funded modernisation plan.

Evidence from passenger reports submitted at fixthedistrict.org since February 2026:

• 52% of passenger delay reports were logged while TfL said "Good Service"
• 22 days with a branch signal failure in 4 months
• Signal failure is the #1 reported problem, accounting for 40% of all reports
• An estimated 339,000 customer-hours lost since February 2026

A two-day track fault disrupted the opening week of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. And during this year's Championships, TfL and Network Rail announced £500,000 to "strengthen signalling" on the line — protective coatings, upgraded track circuits, better fault detection.

These works may make the existing signalling more resilient, but they do not replace it. £500,000 has been committed to short-term resilience; £0 to permanent modernisation of the Wimbledon branch.

We're asking:

• The UK Government: fund full modern signalling from East Putney to Wimbledon, and fit the trains run by the now publicly-owned South Western Railway to work on it
• The Mayor of London and TfL: develop and deliver it with the Department for Transport, Network Rail and SWR — by restoring the branch to the Four Lines Modernisation programme or an equivalent project
• All parties: publish a funded plan with a clear timetable — a permanent replacement, not another patch

Sign now to tell the Government, the Mayor and TfL: fund the permanent fix and publish the timetable. Then share this petition with one person who uses the branch. Full evidence: fixthedistrict.org/campaign