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South West Main Line: Standards

Asked by Sir Ashley FoxConservativeDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 3 July 2026UIN 13305

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cancellation rate was for South Western Railway services in (a) the 12 months before 25 May 2025 and (b) the most recent 12-month period for which data is available.

Answered by Keir Mather

SWR's All Stations Cancellations at the end of May 2025 was 2.85%. The same metric at the end of May 2026 was 3.03%.

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. SWR has also been faced with infrastructure issues, operational challenges, and external factors such as weather and trespass.

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