My father is a driver for South West Trains (SWT) and has been for the last two or so years. Because of this, I get to go free anywhere on the SWT line and anywhere in the UK for 25% of the total fare!
SWT provide a good, clean service from as far west as Weymouth to as far east as Warterloo.
However, if I had to pay the going rate, I wouldn't travel by train at all. I find that most of the Trains are late, even on short routes to small stations, what is going on?
My dad is always telling me that it isn't the drivers fault; it’s the signals or rail track. I do kind of believe him but surely there must be something to do to get rid of the delays completely.
Anyway, the trains themselves are not at all bad. They have just acquired some new German trains which look very futuristic. These are very smooth running and extremely clean (at the moment). All of the SWT trains run on electricity so they are very quiet and don't produce much pollution.
The service onboard is what you would expect. On the longer routes i.e. Bournemouth to Waterloo there is a buffet carriage with a small seated area. The buffet service is very expensive indeed. You can expect to pay £3.50 for a sand wedge. Smoking has now been banned on all SWT services which are good for some, but a pain for others! Personally, I am glad smoking has been banned.
The seats in general are comfortable. They are wide and provide enough leg room to stretch out a little. My favourite seats on the trains are the ones with the huge tables. The tables come in handy for all sorts of things and are very sturdy. Each seat has a pull down table attached to the chair in front. This provides room for a drink and sand wedge, but nothing more.
The hotspots for delays on the SWT line are just outside of Southampton to the west and on the line through Clapham Junction. Waterloo is always a little slow but not to bad considering it is the end of the line.
The SWT line does pass through some amazing scenery and the journeys are very relaxing.
The train stations could do with a bit of a redevelopment. Waterloo is fine and has just had the roof cleaned which supplies a lot more light to the platform than there used to be. Other than that, most of the other stations are appalling. There is moss growing everywhere, the toilets have all been vandalised and there is rubbish all over the place.
The toilets on the trains are ok. They are quite small though and I wouldn't dare go for a number 2 on them!
There is a good frequency of trains which means you never have to wait 30mins for another one to arrive which is all for the better. The less time spent on the stations the better.
If you are to travel by train on the South coast then SWT is your only option. They do get you from A to B in a reasonable time so I guess that’s the main thing. I would avoid using them during the mooring and evening rush hour as the trains WILL be packed. My tip to you is to take your own food as the buffet service is very expensive.
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Generally good review, a couple of little extras tho, SWT do use Diesel trains on the West of England route (not Weymouth line) and they go as far west as Cornwall
Other than that, nice review.
petitesquirt 26.05.2004 01:13
I used to travel frequently on the SWT. It was always delays plus cancellations that I remember most of.
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May 25th, 2004
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