South West Trains - South West Trains Services - D

South West Trains - D

South West Trains Services

South West Trains was the key operator for western Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, and also served Berkshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon. In Greater London, it operated all National Rail services (other than London Overground) in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Boroughs of Richmond-upon-Thames and Hounslow, and also served the London Boroughs of Merton, Wandsworth and Lambeth.

Most SWT services ran on electrified lines using the 750 V DC third-rail system. A diesel fleet was used for services on the West of England line to Salisbury, Exeter and Bristol, using the unelectrified track beyond Worting Junction just west of Basingstoke, and for Salisbury to Southampton via Romsey services which also served Eastleigh. By 2015, SWT was reportedly operating roughly 1,600 train services each day and managing in excess of 200 stations.

From Waterloo, SWT's London terminus, long-distance trains ran to southern England, including the major coastal population centres of Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. There were also trains to Reading, Exeter and Bristol, but these were not the principal fast services from London to those cities, which are operated from London Paddington by Great Western Railway. The majority of its passengers were on suburban commuter lines in inner and south-west London, Surrey, east Berkshire, and north-east Hampshire.

After privatisation in 1996, the network changed considerably, no longer serving West Croydon, Sutton, 'Coastway' stations between Chichester and Brighton, or the Reading to Basingstoke line. Services to Bristol (introduced in 2004 to replace withdrawn Arriva Trains Wales services), Mottisfont and Dunbridge and Dean were introduced after the start of the franchise. Its longstanding services beyond Exeter to Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance, which ran in competition with First Great Western and its predecessors, ceased in December 2009 so as to release stock for the hourly Waterloo to Exeter service.

As with most rail companies, non-folding bicycles were banned from peak-time trains to and from London. However, these restrictions applied only to cyclists boarding or alighting in the area bounded by Hook, Alton, Guildford, Reading and Dorking. The aim was to maximise available passenger space on the most crowded trains.

South West Trains had Quiet Zones, similar to the Quiet Coaches on trains operated by certain other Train Operating Companies. Quiet Zones were available on most outer-suburban services and on some express services and are indicated by notices in the windows and signs on the doors. Passengers in these zones were requested not to use mobile phones to take calls or play music out loud.

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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