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South West Main Line: Standards

Asked by Greg SmithConservativeDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 3 July 2026UIN 12277

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many delay minutes per 100 train miles were recorded on South Western Railway in the (a) final year before transfer into public ownership and (b) latest year for which data is available.

Answered by Keir Mather

South Western Railway's (SWR) on self delay minutes per 1000 train miles at the end of May 2025 was 10.59. The same metric at the end of May 2026 was 11.82.

SWR inherited delays to the introduction of the new Arterio fleet and a shortage of trained drivers, which has affected service resilience and contributed to cancellations, but the combination of new rolling stock, more drivers and a better timetable will create the ability for better performance in the future.

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