South West Trains was the first rail franchise to start, on 4 February 1996, and South Western Railway was the first operator to be nationalised under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024. The first service scheduled to be run by SWR on 25 May under its new ownership by DfT Operator Ltd was a rail replacement bus, the 0536 from Woking – hopefully not a sign of future performance.

So what did – or will - change? SWR has already emailed its customers saying “Although the legal operator is changing, your experience won’t. You’ll continue to see the same branding, same services, and the same teams running your trains”. That’s not exactly good news, for the many passengers who want better services not more of the same.

We recognise the financial challenges the railway faces but we also believe there are huge opportunities and much more needs to happen if public rather than private ownership is to be the success we all hope for. The Government has set out its vision for the legislative framework for the new world and has talked about the importance of Great British Railways GBR). But that isn't going to happen for some time.

So, we look for action before then to tackle topics like workforce terms and conditions to enable flexible rostering 7 day working, and drivers opening and closing doors; improving customer service; and a lot more. There are some marginal improvements which could be introduced quite quickly to demonstrate that change is possible, such as following other operators and reinstating the main and suburban off-peak service frequencies cut during the pandemic.

As regards SWR's suburban services, its introduction of ‘new’ Class 701 Arterio trains can only be described as a fiasco. The first train was delivered to SWR in June 2020. Five years later, only a small number of the 90 units are actually in service. This must be resolved to restore a ten-coach reliable service in the suburban area to reduce the overcrowding which is now commonplace.

Minimum service levels should be four trains per hour to meet the London Mayor’s targets. The nationalised Southeastern operation has managed to achieve that. SWR has not. On the Hounslow Loop, on the Shepperton branch, on the Kingston Loop and on the Wimbledon to Epsom via Worcester Park route, services are still below pre-pandemic levels. Overcrowding is a constant complaint, unsurprising bearing in mind that most of the yet to be seen Class 701 trains have ten coaches.

On both Portsmouth and Southampton to London main lines services off-peak services are one train per hour less than pre-pandemic. Outside of peak time passengers still can’t get direct services from Southampton area stations like St Denys and Swaythling to Basingstoke or the county town of Winchester without a lengthy change at Eastleigh, while in the New Forest you can’t get direct trains from many village stations to Poole without changing. This restricts commuting and recreation opportunities. Restoring much-needed local connectivity will increase passenger number and revenue. If SWR cannot increase frequencies, maybe open access operator Alliance Rail should be given the opportunity to start its proposed limited service from Marchwood to Waterloo, using existing infrastructure, to prove demand.

There are opportunities to grow revenue without significant investment, for example by offering better luggage accommodation for cruise ship passengers at Southampton or by reduced off-peak car parking charges at out-of-town stations like Southampton Airport Parkway.

However some major infrastructure issues will need addressing. A significant part of the SWR network is unelectrified, despite the intensity of services necessary to serve the highly populated areas it covers. An urgent strategy is required to replace the 35 year old diesel units on Romsey, Salisbury and Exeter services. Technology may yet bring down the cost of electrification, in particular recent successful use of battery powered trains and an acceptance that ‘discontinuous electrification’ is a practical option, perhaps only a few years away from implementation.

A reliable and effective railway is a key enabler to grow the economy locally and nationally, improve mobility, and to reduce carbon emissions through modal shift from private motoring to rail. The Government argues that its plans will improve our railways, however details are thin on the ground. What Key Performance Indicators - KPIs - will be used to assess the success of this public ownership initiative, and who will conduct this assessment process, and at what frequency and how will the findings be published? It is up to campaigners such as Railfuture to ask the difficult questions and hold those in authority to account, so we do indeed have a railway that puts the passenger first.


Railfuture social media release

New Dawn for Rail as South Western services return to public hands – DfT press release

Great British Railways and the public ownership programme - DfT Guidance