South West Trains
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| Franchise(s): | South Western February 1996 – February 2003 February 2003 – February 2007 February 2007 – February 2017 |
| Main region(s): | Greater London |
| Other region(s): | Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire |
| Fleet size: | 337 |
| Stations: | 213 (177 operated) |
| Parent company: | Stagecoach Group |
| Web site: | www.southwesttrains.co.uk |
South West Trains (SWT) is a Train Operating Company operating in the United Kingdom, providing train services to the south-west of London, chiefly in Greater London and the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Wiltshire (the area largely covered before 1923 by the London and South Western Railway company, hence the new company's name).
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[edit] SWT since privatisation
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, SWT took over the operation of the old British Rail Southern Region's South Western division following the privatisation of British Rail in 1996. At the time they started changing the livery of its rolling stock to one with an orange, red, blue, and white stripe as this was an easy modification of the trains' existing British Rail Network SouthEast livery, but in recent years it has standardised on a trio of slight variations - mainly white for long-distance services, mainly blue for outer-suburban services, and a mainly red livery for metro services which is being applied to the Class 455 electric multiple units as they are refurbished. Since privatisation a number of initiatives have been undertaken including refurbishing stations, better access for disabled people, and better customer information displays at stations.
The franchise was renewed in February 2003, but for only four years instead of the 20-year franchise that the company expected.
Recent developments include the introduction of new rail services and the reopening of Chandler's Ford station in Hampshire. At the end of 2004 the company completely recast its timetable for the first time since 1967 in an attempt to bring service provision into line with changing demand and to take into account the different characteristics of modern rolling stock, with the intention that this would improve reliability and punctuality across the network.
A complete smoking ban on all SWT services was introduced from May 2004, partially in response to a fire caused by a cigarette being disposed of near a heater under a seat. In addition, there are restrictions on the carriage of bicycles: non-folding bicycles are banned from early morning and evening trains to and from London Waterloo, which has drawn criticism from integrated transport advocates and cyclists alike. The company justifies this policy by pointing out that many trains are extremely crowded during the rush hour, and that bicycles take up as much space as several people.
A new South Western franchise, including the Isle of Wight's Island Line in addition to the current SWT franchise area, will take effect on 4 February 2007, this will last for ten years until 2017. The Department for Transport announced on 22 September 2006 that Stagecoach Group had been awarded the new franchise[1].
[edit] Train Services
The vast majority of SWT's services are on electrified lines using the 750 V DC third-rail system. There is a relatively small diesel fleet for services on the West of England line to Exeter and Bristol. SWT operates up to 1690 trains per day. Due to the high volume of trains and years of under-investment, delays were commonplace and often led to passenger angst. Initiatives to improve performance have borne fruit and services are generally reliable. These include the introduction of a completely re-structured timetable in December 2004 and the commissioning of a unified Network Rail and SWT control centre at Waterloo, which aims to improve communication between the different organisations responsible for the operation of the railway.
The hub of the network is London Waterloo station, SWT's London terminus. It connects London to the southern and western area of England; a major portion of the company's services is also concerned with suburban commuter lines in south-west London. All of SWT's trains into and out of Waterloo pass through or stop at Vauxhall and Clapham Junction stations, the latter of which is Britain's busiest railway station.
[edit] Main lines
There are four main lines operated by SWT:
- The South Western Main Line (SWML) to Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth;
- The Portsmouth Direct Line via Guildford: leaves the main line at Woking;
- The West of England Main Line to Exeter, Paignton, Plymouth, (and Penzance): leaves the main line at Basingstoke
- Wessex Main Line (part): Southampton via Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
[edit] Suburban services
It is from these three routes that suburban routes operate. Taken in order westwards from Waterloo, travelling down the SWML, they are:
- Waterloo to Reading line: from Clapham Junction, includes the Hounslow Loop Line, the Windsor branch; the Chertsey loop line from Virginia Water to Weybridge; and the Ascot to Ash Vale line via Camberley;
- Dorking line, from Raynes Park, including:
- the Chessington Branch;
- the Shepperton branch, from New Malden, including:
- the Strawberry Hill loop line;
- the New Guildford Line, to Guildford via Cobham from Surbiton. Travellers from Guildford to London can also travel via the mainline through Woking or via Camberley
- the Hampton Court branch
- the Alton branch, from Brookwood
[edit] Other services
- Southampton local lines: Totton via Chandler's Ford to Romsey
- Lymington branch Heritage Line
- Reading to Brighton
[edit] Ticketing
[edit] Tickets
Single and Return fares are available on all South West Trains routes and should be purchased before boarding, except where a ticket or permit to travel machine is not available. In these cases tickets can be purchased from the onboard Guard or the Revenue Protection officers. Travelcards are available for journeys into London. They are valid on London buses, Tramlink, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground and national rail services within the London travelcard area.
Season tickets and travel cards are also available to cover multi day regular journeys. They are available in weekly, monthly and annual periods.
[edit] Oyster Cards
Oyster card pay as you go is not currently available on any South West Trains route, however under the new franchise, smart card ticketing is expected to launch in 2010, this is due to having to install gates at stations to "touch in". Oyster card travelcards and season tickets are valid within the London travelcard area, same as normal paper travelcards and season tickets.
[edit] Penalty Fares
SWT do currently issue penalty fares for customers travelling by train without a valid ticket. This fare is either £20 or double the travelled fare, which ever is greater. This does not apply on the Hownslow loop or west of Salisbury.
Revenue Protection officers employed by South West Trains travel the Network and are visible at stations to enforce the Penalty Fares, aside from Station ticket barriers and CCTV, this is another measure to ensure all customers carry a valid ticket on them.
[edit] Platform Tickets
South West Trains do issue platform tickets for non-travellers such as enthusiasts, they are free and are issued at most mainline stations such as Southampton Central and can by collected off the guard at the barrier. These can not be used for traveeling and if they are a Penalty Fare may be issued as a result.
[edit] Megatrain
Stagecoach, SWT's parent company, have begun to sell seats on some off peak services under the Megatrain brand. This uses a similar low cost model to their Megabus service. Megatrain tickets are generally available on services that are expected to be quiet and empty. The tickets available are generally between Waterloo and other principal stations and ticket holders are assigned to a specific carriage in the train. The Megatrain services are also operated by Virgin Trains in some regions.
[edit] Rolling Stock Details
[edit] Greyhound Fleet
Services on the Lymington Branch Line are now operated as a "heritage" operation using one of two refurbished 3Cig units, nos. 1497 and 1498. The two units have been repainted into their original liveries, one in classic Southern green and the other in British Rail blue and grey, and were launched into service on 12 May 2005.
[edit] Wessex Electrics Fleet
The units were initially dedicated to the Weymouth line, but through the 1990s began to be diagrammed on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth direct line. Now the Class 444 units are fully commissioned, the Wessex Electrics are again be dedicated to the Weymouth line. The Class 442 was one of the first types to make extensive use of plastics in construction, earning them the nickname among staff of "Plastic Pigs". When they were first introduced they were plagued by minor technical failures but subsequently became among the most reliable EMUs operating in the UK. One of the units, 2416, was withdrawn during August 2006 due to continuous air conditioning failure, the unit has since been reinstated and the air conditioning fixed. However there have been reports that when the new South West Trains franchise begins in February 2007, the Class 442's will be taken out of service and the Class 444s will inherit the Waterloo-Southampton-Bournemouth route. The Class 450s will then take over all Portsmouth Harbour via Guildford & Haslemere services. This move also coincides with SWT reinstating all Class 458s for the Waterloo-Reading line.
[edit] Juniper Fleet
Thirty of these four-carriage units were ordered by South West Trains in 1998, to create extra capacity and to replace some of the ageing 4Cep units, which at the time were on short-term lease. Deliveries of these units commenced in 1998.
The class suffered from major technical problems, so none of the older units were withdrawn from service. It was six more years, in 2004, before the full fleet was in service. In 2003 and 2004, reliability was so dire that although they were only six years old, South West Trains decided that the units should be replaced by 2005 with the newer Class 450 Desiro units [2]. Only a handful of units are required each day to help maintain services from Waterloo to Reading, and these were expected to cease after 31 July 2006 when the lease with the rolling stock company expired. An application by SWT to extend this by six months was declined as the class does not meet all the requirements of disability legislation. However, since then it has been decided that as the start of the new franchise in February 2007, the class will be reinstated and take over all operations on the Waterloo to Reading line, covering the loss of the class 442s. They are being fitted with new larger destination screens that comply with the disability legislation, however, still fall foul in some other areas such as the height of the door open buttons. It is believe a small exemption is being made for this class in those respects.
[edit] Desiro Fleet
The introduction of Desiro rolling stock built by Siemens was to replace the old slam-door trains which were coming to the end of their useful lives, and had been posing health and safety problems. The introduction was delayed because of the additional power needs of this type of stock: Network Rail spent £1 billion upgrading the power supply to take account of this.
The new trains are generally proving popular with passengers, with on-board information systems and full air-conditioning. Their faster acceleration is counterbalanced by the need to stop longer at each station, since they have fewer doors (although the fact that the old trains' doors could be opened while in motion was considered a safety hazard). In addition, the Desiros have many more components: all are computerised and subject to the possibility of breakdowns. It is estimated that the slam-door trains could achieve 60,000 miles (96,000 km) without breakdown; the Desiros an estimated 13,000 miles (20,800 km) but this is gradually improving.
The final slam-door train on regular passenger services ran from London Waterloo to Bournemouth on 26 May 2005 with units 1396, 3536 and 1398. Some slam-door units have been preserved on heritage railways and three are retained by SWT for operations on the Lymington Branch Line and for special duties.
The Desiro stock comes in two variants - Class 450 units have four cars and are mainly used on outer suburban services, while Class 444 units have five cars as well as longer intercity style coach bodies and are for use on longer-distance services to, among other destinations, Portsmouth.
[edit] Diesel Fleet
SWT currently has 22 three car Class 159s, 2 two car Class 158s and 9 two car Class 170s. To increase capacity and standardise their fleet, SWT are currently engaging in a stock reshuffle. 5 of the Class 170s will be transferred to TransPennine Express from late 2006, in exchange for 9 three car Class 158 units. These units are being converted at Wabtec Doncaster to Class 159/1s, the first 159/1 arrived in Salisbury Depot on 27 November 2006 to begin testing and a second shortly after. A further Class 170, 170392, which was originally built to Southern specification, but taken over by SWT soon after its construction, will be return to them. The remaining 3 Class 170s will be used on the Romsey - Totton via Chandler's Ford line.
[edit] Rolling Stock
[edit] Current fleet
- 9 new 159/1s, 101-9, exchanged with TransPennine Express, are currently being delivered. 159101-2 have arrived.
- 6 Class 170s will be transferred to TransPennine Express and Southern from late 2006.
- Used on the Lymington to Brockenhurst as part of the heritage line.
- Fleet being refurbished; expected to be finished around 2007/2008.
- 17 currently being delivered, expected early 2007.
- Currently being modified with larger destination displays. Only a few are needed to cover Reading services currently, until the withdrawal of the Class 442 fleet.
- To be Withdrawn by February 2007 (start of the new South Western franchise).The 442 Class will be withdrawn from South West Trains being replaced by Class 444 Desiro units between Waterloo and Bournemouth. The Class 442s currently on loan to South West Trains are owned by Angel Trains.
[edit] Past fleet
| Class | Type | Built | Withdrawn | Notes |
| Class 411 (4Cep) | Electric multiple unit | 1956-1963 | December 2004 | |
| Class 412 (4Bep) | Electric multiple unit | 1956-1963 | March 2005 | |
| Class 421 (4Cig) | Electric multiple unit | 1964-1972 | May 2005 | Two retained for heritage operations on Lymington Branch Line, now 3Cig units |
| Class 423 (4Vep) | Electric multiple unit | 1967-1974 | May 2005 | One retained for railtour work, but now for disposal to a suitable heritage railway |
[edit] Preserved SWT trains
Of the Classes 411, 412, 421 and 423 slam-door trains, several former SWT units have been preserved.
- Class 411, no. 1198 at Dartmoor Railway
- Class 412, nos. 2311 and 2315 at Eden Valley Railway
- Class 412, no. 2325 at East Kent Railway
- Class 421, nos. 1392 and 1499 at Dean Forest Railway
- Class 421, no. 1393 at Great Central Railway
- Class 421, no. 1399 at Dartmoor Railway
- Class 423, no. 3417 likely to be preserved
In contrast, just two former Southern units have been preserved - one Class 421 and one Class 423. No complete units from South Eastern Trains have been saved.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Preceded by: Network SouthEast As part of British Rail |
Operator of South Western franchise 1996-present |
Succeeded by: N/A |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central1 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line2 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways3 - 'one' - Silverlink - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains2 - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains |
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| International: | Enterprise3 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express4 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper5 - Night Riviera6 |
| 1 Starts 20 May 2007 - 2 To be replaced by the South Western franchise in February 2007 3 Operated on the Irish railway network - 4 Operated by 'one' - 5 Operated by First ScotRail 6 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators in Great Britain | |
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| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - London Overground1 - South Western2 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Grand Union3 - Wrexham & Shropshire4 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Starts February 2007 - 3 Proposed - 4 Awaiting Approval | |
