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South West Main Line: Standards

Asked by Shivani RajaConservativeDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 29 June 2026UIN 12602

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of South Western Railway services arrived on time in (a) the final full year before transfer into public ownership and (b) the most recent year for which data is available.

Answered by Keir Mather

At the end of May 2025, 84 per cent of South Western Railway (SWR) services arrived on time, or within three minutes of their scheduled arrival time. At the end of May 2026, the same metric showed 83.1 per cent.

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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