South West Trains - A

South West Trains - A

Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017.

SWT operated the majority of commuter services from its Central London terminus at London Waterloo to South West London and was the key operator for outer suburban and regional services in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset.

It also provided regional services in Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight through its Island Line subsidiary. Unlike the majority of franchises, SWT operated without subsidies, being a profitable concern due to the high number of commuters that regularly used its services.

The area of operation was the former South Western division of Network SouthEast, and was also roughly that of the pre-1923 London & South Western Railway (excluding everything west of Exeter). As part of the privatisation of British Rail, SWT was taken over by Stagecoach.

In 2004, the franchise was retained by Stagecoach when re-tendered. In 2007, the franchise was merged with the Island Line franchise to form a newly extended South Western franchise, which was won by Stagecoach. When next tendered, the franchise was awarded to South Western Railway which took over the franchise on 20 August 2017.

South West Trains History

South West Trains Origins

As a consequence of the privatisation of British Rail during the mid 1990s, railway operations were segmented into various franchises, one of which being the South Western franchise. These franchises were awarded to various privately owned companies following an evaluation of competitive bids. During 1995, it was announced that the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising had awarded the South West Trains franchise to the Scottish transport group Stagecoach.

Operations commenced on 4 February 1996, with South West Trains' first train, the 05:10 Twickenham to London Waterloo; it was the first privatised scheduled train to operate for 48 years.

In April 2001, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded Stagecoach a new franchise for the region, its bid having been judged to be superior to those from its rivals, FirstGroup / NedRailways and Sea Containers. The 2001 franchises awarded were (as promulgated) to run for twenty years, however, only one year later, the Strategic Rail Authority decided to reduce the duration of franchises, thus South West Trains was awarded a three-year franchise starting on 1 February 2004. Shortly following this award, SWT placed a substantial order for new rolling stock for the network, it was described as being the largest such order in British history.

During the early days of its franchise, SWT gained notoriety for enacting severe cuts to its services, which were typically attributed to the shortage of drivers; the company sought to remedy this by seeking to hire additional drivers. SWT also implemented significant improvements upon the network, including replacing much of the inherited British Rail-era rolling stock, along with the refurbishment of most stations, which included increasing their accessibility to disabled passengers. There was also an emphasis on the improving the customer experience, such as better access to service information. During the early 2000s, improvements included the introduction of new rail services and the reopening of Chandler's Ford station in Hampshire.

South West Trains Overview

South West Trains Franchise(s):

South West

4 February 1996 – 3 February 2007

South Western

4 February 2007 – 20 August 2017

South West Trains Main region(s):

Greater London

Surrey

Hampshire

Isle of Wight

Dorset

South West Trains Other Region(s):

Berkshire

Wiltshire

Somerset

Devon

South West Trains Fleet Size: 373

1 Class 73 electro-diesel locomotive

11 Class 158 Express Sprinter sets

30 Class 159 South Western Turbo sets

45 Class 444 Desiro sets

127 Class 450 Desiro sets

91 Class 455 sets

24 Class 456 sets

36 Class 458 Juniper sets

2 Class 707 Desiro City sets

6 Class 483 sets

South West Trains Stations Called at: 213

South West Trains Stations Operated: 185 (including Island Line)

South West Trains Parent company: Stagecoach

South West Trains Reporting mark: SW

South West Trains Predecessor: Network SouthEast

Island Line (Island Line franchise)

South West Trains Successor: South Western Railway

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