DEAR COLLEAGUES, As you know, Stagecoach will shortly pass on responsibility for South West Trains to a new operator. Having worked with you to run the network for more than two decades, it’s a poignant moment: a mix of sadness at the passing of an era, but also of pride at what we have achieved together as a fantastic team.
We’ve run a great railway for our customers, and I’ve got happy memories from the past 21 years as we have worked together to deliver the best possible service to the millions of customers on the South West Trains network – and many of those good memories are down to you, our people.
You have made me truly proud to be a part of South West Trains and together you have delivered transformation and change on a scale that many in the industry have looked upon enviously.
It feels like it was only yesterday that our very first train left Twickenham station at 05.10 on 4 February 1996. As many of you will know, this was the first rail franchise that we had been involved in since myself and my sister, Ann, started Stagecoach in 1980, and South West Trains was one of the first train companies to be privatised in 1996, followed by Island Line Trains later that same year. We then successfull…
