South Western Railway Managing Director ANDY MELLORS talk to PHILIP SHERRATT about progress in the first two years of the company’s franchise
The South Western Railway franchise is now two years old. The joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR took over the operation from Stagecoach on 20 August 2017, with its seven-year deal starting during the middle of the major works at Waterloo to lengthen the suburban platforms for 10-car operation. Since then SWR has faced its fair share of challenges in relation to rolling stock, performance and the prevailing economic and financial environment. But despite this, Managing Director Andy Mellors is positive about the progress being made, with more capacity introduced and signs that the ongoing trend of declining performance is being reversed.
CAPACITY
As with most modern franchises, capacity is the name of the game for SWR. ‘We’ve committed to providing 52,000 additional seats across the morning and evening peaks, and we’re well on the way to delivering that’ reports Mr Mellors.
