South Western Railway (train Operating Company)

South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR Corporation on 25 May 2025.

SWR operates commuter services from its Central London terminus at to south west London, suburban services in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset, as well as regional services in Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire. Under the brand Island Line, it operates services on the Isle of Wight.

History

In the lead up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership. Following its election in 2024, the government introduced the ''Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024'', which received royal assent in November 2024.

In December 2024, it was announced that the South Western Railway National Rail Contract operated by FirstGroup and MTR Corporation would not be renewed when it expired, and DfT Operator took over on 25 May 2025.

Services

South Western Railway is the main operator for western Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, and also serves Greater London, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon.

Most SWR services run on electrified lines using the 750 V DC third-rail system. There is a diesel fleet for services on the West of England line to Salisbury and Exeter, using the unelectrified track beyond Worting Junction just west of Basingstoke, and for Salisbury to Southampton via Romsey services which also serve Eastleigh.

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

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

Mainline services

SWR operates regular services on four ''mainline'' routes:

* The South West Main Line (SWML) runs between London (Waterloo station) and the town of Weymouth; the route passes through several large towns and cities, including Woking, Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole and Dorchester. South Western Railway operates trains along the entire length of the line. Almost all trains operated by the company start from or terminate at London Waterloo with the exception of a Winchester - Bournemouth / Poole stopping service; these include semi-fast services to/from Southampton and Poole, and express services to/from Weymouth. There are also trains to and from Portsmouth; these trains branch off the SWML at Eastleigh, then proceed via the Eastleigh to Fareham and West Coastway lines to Portsmouth Harbour station.
* The Portsmouth Direct line (PDL) branches off the SWML at Woking and runs to Portsmouth via Guildford, Haslemere, Petersfield and Havant. South Western Railway operates all passenger trains on this route; these include fast and semi-fast services between London and Portsmouth, and semi-fast services as far as Haslemere.
* The West of England line (WEL) is the only mainline route that is not fully electrified. It leaves the SWML at Basingstoke and runs to Exeter via Andover, Salisbury, Gillingham and Yeovil. South Western Railway is the only operator on the line, with most services running between London and either Salisbury or Exeter St Davids. Some peak-time services terminate at various other destinations on the line, including Gillingham and Yeovil Pen Mill.
* The Alton line leaves the SWML at (just after Woking) and runs to Alton via Aldershot and Farnham. It is the shortest of the four mainline routes and as such it is sometimes considered an outer suburban route instead (however for ticketing purposes, it is classed as a mainline route). Services usually run the full length of the line between London and Alton, though some services terminate at Farnham.

In total, there are 14 mainline trains per hour departing London Waterloo in the off-peak; this number increases in the peak hours. The majority of mainline services are operated by or EMUs, except for the West of England Main Line which is always operated by or DMUs (because it is unelectrified) and the Alton Line which also sees the occasional use of units.

Metro and Suburban services

South Western Railway also operates many suburban "Metro" services in and around London. These all run between London Waterloo and , where they split into two separate routes: via Putney and via Wimbledon. All services on the suburban part of the network are operated by , , and electric multiple units.

Via Putney

The main route via Putney is known as the Waterloo to Reading Line. It runs between London and Reading and passes through towns such as Staines-upon-Thames, Ascot and Bracknell. It operates as a fast service as far as , with Reading trains only calling at , , and . Branch lines on this route include:

* The Hounslow Loop Line, which leaves the main line at , runs via and rejoins the line between and (with junctions in both directions). Most services on the branch run either between London and Weybridge (described below), or run in a loop from Waterloo to Waterloo via Brentford, Whitton and Richmond (these services run both clockwise and anticlockwise).
* The Kingston Loop Line, which branches off at Twickenham, runs via Kingston and joins the South West Main Line at New Malden. Most services on this line run in an anticlockwise loop, from Waterloo to Waterloo, via Putney, Strawberry Hill, Kingston and Wimbledon.
** There is also a branch line to Shepperton, however, this is only served by Putney trains at peak times.
* The Staines to Windsor Line, which branches off the main line at Staines-upon-Thames and runs to Windsor & Eton Riverside station. Most services run semi-fast between London and Windsor.
* The Chertsey Branch Line, which leaves the main line at Virginia Water and runs to Weybridge. Most services on the line run between London and Weybridge via the Hounslow Loop Line; a few services are extended beyond Weybridge, to and from Woking.
* The Ascot to Guildford Line, which is only served by through trains at peak times; these services run between London and Aldershot.

A total of 12 trains per hour run between London Waterloo and Putney in the off-peak; this number increases in peak hours.

Via Wimbledon

The main route via Wimbledon uses the slow tracks of the quadruple-track South West Main Line. Suburban trains run along the mainline between London and Woking. Branch lines on this route include:

* The Mole Valley Line, which branches off the main line at Raynes Park and runs via Epsom to Leatherhead, where the branch line itself splits into two lines: one to Guildford and one to Horsham via Dorking. SWR runs regular services to both Guildford and Dorking; the section between Dorking and Horsham is operated by Southern.
** The Chessington Branch Line branches off the Mole Valley Line at Motspur Park and runs to Chessington.
* The Kingston Loop Line, which leaves the SWML at New Malden, runs via Kingston and joins the Waterloo to Reading line at . Most services on this line run in a clockwise loop, from Waterloo to Waterloo, via Wimbledon, Kingston, Strawberry Hill and Putney.
** The Shepperton Branch Line, which branches off the Kingston Loop Line at Teddington. Most services on the branch line run between Waterloo and Shepperton via Wimbledon.
* The Hampton Court Branch Line, which leaves the main line at Surbiton and runs directly to Hampton Court.
* The New Guildford Line, which also branches off at Surbiton, running to Guildford via Claygate. The line joins the Guildford branch of the Mole Valley Line at Effingham Junction.

A total of 16 trains per hour run between London Waterloo and Wimbledon in the off-peak; this number increases in peak hours.

Other services

Routes that do not start or terminate at London Waterloo include:

* The Ascot to Guildford Line, which runs between Ascot and Guildford via Aldershot. Most services on the line run only between Ascot and Guildford, with no extension in either direction; however, some peak-time services do run between London and Farnham via Ascot. The shuttle services are usually operated by units.
* The western section of the West Coastway Line between Portsmouth and Southampton. Class 450 units are usually in operation on this route.
* The Eastleigh to Romsey Line between Romsey and Eastleigh. Services on the line are extended beyond Eastleigh to and from Salisbury via Southampton Central and Romsey, in effect calling at Romsey twice. These services are operated using units.
* The Wessex Main Line between Salisbury and Southampton. Services are extended beyond Southampton via the Eastleigh to Romsey Line, as described above.
* The Lymington Branch Line between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier runs every 30 minutes between these two stations. These services are operated using a single unit.
* The Island Line on the Isle of Wight, between and Shanklin. These services are operated using units, converted from London Underground D78 Stock.

Service table

Details of each route, including maps and timetables, are on the South Western Railway official website ''(see External links below)''. As of December 2023, its routes off-peak Monday to Friday, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), include:

Rolling stock

South Western Railway Limited inherited a fleet of Classes , , , , , and from FirstMTR South Western Railway.

The Class fleet will be replaced by 30 five-car and 60 ten-car units built at Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane Works, financed by ROSCO Rock Rail for , for use on Reading, Windsor and London suburban services.

, 42 of the 90 trains ordered had been accepted from Alstom. The trains began to be used for passengers in January 2024.

Current fleet

Depots

The following train depots and stabling sidings are used for the South Western Railway fleet:

* Bournemouth Depot is southwest of station, occupying the approach to the former .
* Farnham Traincare Depot, in Weydon Lane, was opened by the Southern Railway at the time of the electrification of the Portsmouth and lines in 1937.
* Feltham Depot was completed in 2021; it is intended to provide stabling for the Class 701 units.
* Fratton Traincare Depot is located on central Portsea Island, alongside station.
* Northam Traincare Facility was built by Siemens in 2002 as the home depot for the Desiro fleet as part of a 20-year maintenance contract. It is located south of station and is near Southampton Football Club's St Mary's Stadium.
* Ryde Traincare Depot, alongside on the Isle of Wight services the units that operate on the Island Line.
* Salisbury Depot maintains the Class 158 and Class 159 fleet.
* Strawberry Hill Train Maintenance Depot in south west London, was built in 1897, is inside the triangular junction of the Shepperton Branch Line with the Kingston Loop Line, just yards from Strawberry Hill railway station.
* Wimbledon Traincare Depot is located between and stations, on the main line to Waterloo, next to the Wimbledon railway viaduct.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Train operating companies in the United Kingdom

Government-owned companies of England
Railway companies established in 2025
2025 establishments in England