Improvements to rail service between Waterloo and Queenstown Road have been announced as part of Network Rail’s biggest investment in infrastructure for more than a century.

Network Rail’s strategic business plan for Wessex, which covers the route from London Waterloo to the south and south west of England, has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation and sets out proposals which will help drive local, regional and national economies and help make the railway one of the most efficient in Europe.

In numbers the changes will see 539,300 seats into London across all routes during peak morning hours in 2014 and an extra 115,000 more by 2019.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance, said: “The route out of London Waterloo across the south and south west of England is one of the busiest in Europe, with Waterloo station alone handling around 100m passengers per year - a figure which will only rise in the years to come.”

As part of the £1bn investment, a total of £247.5m will be spent on track renewals; £273.9m on signalling enhancements; £182m on bridges, tunnels, major structures, culverts, footbridges and earthworks; £127.4m on building improvements; £87.6m on electrification; £32.7m on telecommunications; and £23.3m on plant and machinery.

As part of the huge project the company will engage in track renewal between Queenstown Road and London Waterloo.