At 2am this morning South Western Railway began operating Island Line on the Isle of Wight.
It’s been a long build up to get here. After initial delays, First MTR South Western Trains Limited won the franchise.
This name has now been abbreviated to South Western Railway, or even more briefly, SWR.
Previous fears
Under Andrew Turner’s time as MP, there had been talk of an attempt to remove Island Line from the franchise, with many stating that this may lead to the service not having enough funding, which they feared could lead to its eventual closure. Keep Island Line in Franchise (KILF) fought hard against this.
Promised improvements
On winning the franchise, South Western Railway were quick to promise improvements to the service.
These have been restated today:
South Western Railway will now start the consultation phase of the process to deliver improvements for Island Line. This will include setting out a range of options to stakeholders for rolling stock and infrastructure, before submitting ideas to the Government next year.
Other Island Line highlights:
- Marketing campaigns to encourage customers and tourists to travel to and from the Island
- Work closely with cross-Solent operators and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway
- Provide free Wi-Fi at stations
- Deploy an annual customer and community improvement fund of £50k
- Creating an Island Line stakeholder forum
MD: “We are committed”
Andy Mellors, Managing Director, for SWR and Island Line said:
“Customer and stakeholder expectations are clear – they want to see improvements to Island Line and the services it offers to both residents and those travelling to the Island for leisure or business.
“We are committed to working with both the Council and stakeholders to achieve this and are confident that we can be develop a plan that will be deliver to the objectives of all parties.”
CEO: “Investing to improve the network”
Tim O’Toole, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, talking about the entire franchise network (including the mainland), said,
“We are delighted to launch the new South Western Railway today. Together with our partners MTR, we will connect millions of customers every week, while investing to improve the network now and in the future. Our experienced leadership team, working alongside thousands of our dedicated SWR colleagues, will deliver the tangible improvements that customers and stakeholders told us they want.
“Passengers can look forward to a step change in customer experience with new and better trains, more seats and services, quicker journey times, improved stations and more flexible fare options.”
