South West Trains > Reviews

Advantages: I can get to work
Disadvantages: No choice over whether I use them and appalling customer service

...the board of management from South West Trains who will be passing down the carriages. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them." Ah-ha, so that is what they are up to. Then again, at our first stop, West Byfleet, "Good Morning and welcome to those passengers who have joined the 0733 semi-fast service to London Waterloo calling at….." and then they again told us that there were South West Train managers on board. Shortly ... Read review

Advantages: [below]
Disadvantages: [below]

I myself travel using South West Trains very frequently, and in writing this opinion I also draw on the comments of father who daily catches the 0752 from Guildford to Waterloo, using a season ticket which cost him many thousands of pounds. Trains are frequently delayed, cancelled or short in carriages, causing much disruption, which people who have spent a lot on their ticket do not deserve. Having finally managed to get on the train, they ... Read review

Advantages: you get to your to where you want quickly if you havent got a car and you can save petrol
Disadvantages: you dont know how relable they are

I've been a train traveller all my life and as neither of my parents drive I have got use to what our trains were like but recently i feel they have been getting worse. For example i went to Southampton recently and the toilets were a total mess. There was no loo role as it was all over the floor, the tap water didn't run/flow properly, and the hand towels were non-existent. Also the door didn't close, as the lock didn't reach its fixing on the ... Read review

Advantages: none
Disadvantages: Expensive, uncomfortable, unreliable, impolite, chance of parasite infection

...? If you can avoid taking south west trains, then do. They can, at best, be described as a bunch of talentless clowns. The entire system is a shining example of how NOT to run a service. Well, let's start at the beginning with the ticket purchasing. Ok, I know it's not South West Trains, but hey it's all part of the SWT "experience" and you can GARAUNTEE that there will be a large queue when you go to buy your ticket. So get ready to stand in line, ... Read review

Advantages: Trains look good from the outside
Disadvantages: Trains look bad from the inside

South West Trains run most of the trains in the south west, as the name suggests conveniently. When the network was privatised it was taken over by Stagecoach and since then i would have to say that the service has got worse. Weymouth is a small town that is surrounded by hills and only has one proper road out that is always ful of traffic. This makes the trains the only way out of the town without getting stuck in traffic jams. I am one of those ... Read review

Advantages: Good Staff, Gets you from A to B
Disadvantages: poor facilities and conditions. Very old fashioned and needs improving fast!

...opinions from other people regarding South West Trains, i have to agree with the people who havent given the SW Trains a good rating because they are very poor at the moment. From when i was a small kid (about 10 yrs ago) i hardly ever went on trains but when i did i used to love it and always wanted to be a train driver. Well havent those years changed my opinion drastically. Having been to a number of stations i feel that many train stations ... Read review

Advantages: Er......
Disadvantages: Too many to list in 15 words!

Grrrr! South West Trains! Grrrr! I am lucky enough to live in the North so do not have to use South West Trains on a regular basis (‘regular’ not being a word I’d use to describe them however…), but as my partner lives in Guildford I occasionally use the service to travel from Guildford to Waterloo. On the whole I would describe the services as unreliable, and the trains as creaky and stuffed to the brim with passengers ... Read review

Advantages: Nice Staff
Disadvantages: Where to start?...

...and on. So why do South West Trains have over 28,000 customers each day? The reason – well, it’s probably because even though they fail on nearly everything, it is still easier than driving. They run over 1600 trains every weekday, to over 217 stations with over 4,500 members of staff; quite impressive really. This op is being written on the Weymouth – Waterloo route, one which I have become familiar with and has become familiar ... Read review

Advantages: Absolutely NONE
Disadvantages: Exepensive, unreliable, filthy

...good things to say about south west trains. I regularly communte from Camberley to Richmond and I used to brave the train but I find driving there must more comfortable, despite the boredom of sitting in traffic jams on the M3. Are all their stations as grim as the ones that I see? The facilities are generally limited (no news kiosk) and the stations are grimy. Then you have the joy of waiting for your train - you could be waiting some time. Generally ... Read review

Advantages: Gets you from A to B... sometimes
Disadvantages: Don't have time to list them all!

--- I would like to add that I put my faith in SWT to upgrade their network over the next thirty years and let's hope that the 800 new trains are deliveres. --- I looked at my train yesterday. I looked at it again. Judging from its age and state, it could have been one that's been delayed from 1965 - it had definitely never been cleaned since then, anyway. I arrived at the station. So I went to the ticket counter: 'Can I have a ticket to ... Read review

Advantages: Necessary evil
Disadvantages: Crowded, unreliable

...to be a slave to South West Trains - well, sort of, because from Richmond to London, there is a 'choice' (LOL) of SWT, District Line or Silver Link. At least the latter two start from Richmond, so one can normally get a seat, but SWT, ostensibly faster, should be avoided whenever possible, particularly during rush hours. They are simply too crowded to get on, and on the rare occasions one is in such a hurry that one has to join the pushing, shoving, ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic customer services
Disadvantages: They're wrong!

This is going to sound kinda pathetic, but I had to go to Brookwood from Basingstoke. I asked the ticket man, the man on the platform and the man on the train. They all said that this train was goung to stop everywhere including Brookwood. Being a bit of a sceptic, I also looked up at the TV screen and it said the train was going to stop at Brookwood. So, I got on the train. The train stopped everywhere, Hook, Wichfield, Fleet and Farnborough. ... Read review