Over 5,500 extra seats in South Western Railway's new timetable this May

Over 5,500 extra seats in South Western Railway's new timetable this May

Tuesday 15th May 2018

South Western Railway’s summer timetable comes into effect on Sunday 20 May bringing great news for thousands of passengers with longer trains, providing over 5,500 extra seats on some of SWR’s busiest routes and additional services to some smaller stations.

The news follows the introduction of 11,000 extra seats into and out of Waterloo at peak times earlier this year, when the last of the new Class 707 trains entered passenger service.

Now the summer timetable brings more capacity on some of our busiest weekend and off-peak services. A small number of weekday peak services will also be lengthened.

Many smaller stations will benefit with additional calls at stations such as Longcross on the Windsor Line, Godalming on the Portsmouth Line and Whitchurch on the West of England Line.

South Western Railway’s Managing Director, Andy Mellors, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to provide over 5,500 extra seats for thousands of our customers, and better journey opportunities at some of our smaller stations in the new timetable.

“The new longer platforms at Waterloo mean that we’re now running longer trains on some of our busiest services, and in December this year, the former Waterloo International Terminal will fully reopen, giving us access to additional platforms, providing much needed extra flexibility.”

PDFs of each timetable can be found at www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/timetables or paper copies can be picked up from any staffed South Western Railway station.
  

  • South Western Railway working hard to prepare for the royal wedding

  • In excess of 150,000 people expected to travel to Windsor on the day itself

  • Services likely to be extremely busy with queuing systems in place at key stations including London Waterloo, Staines and Windsor and Eton Riverside

  • Visit southwesternrailway.com/royalwedding for more information

After months of behind the scenes preparation for the royal wedding, South Western Railway is looking forward to celebrating the big day. The bunting is at the ready for Windsor and Eton Riverside station and flags will be handed out to customers on arrival so they can greet the newlyweds in style when the town centre parade is underway. Who are some of the key people behind South Western Railway’s preparation?

Péter Tamásfalvi, Station Manager for Staines (also covering Windsor and Eton Riverside station), South Western Railway

“I will be the Event Manager at Windsor and Eton Riverside station on the day of the wedding. I’ll make sure that everybody is safe, well looked-after and enjoys themselves!

“I’m really happy and proud to play even a small part in the royal wedding festivities. I’ll be working closely with my station team and colleagues from Network Rail, British Transport Police and others to create a positive atmosphere for everyone visiting Windsor - hopefully they will go home with great memories to share with those who could not attend on the day.”

Wyatt Gates, Event Strategy Manager, South Western Railway:

“We’ve been working flat out to prepare for the big day ever since the wedding was announced. We’ve liaised very closely with partners and stakeholders to ensure that everything goes smoothly from a logistical perspective.

“We knew right from the start just what a momentous occasion this would be which is why we decided to double our direct services from Waterloo to four an hour and will be running full ten-carriage trains to make sure we get as many of our customers to Windsor as possible.”

Chico Coulibaly, Stations Area Manager, South Western Railway

“I was involved in planning and delivering the Rugby World Cup back in 2015 as the Station Manager at Twickenham but this event is on another scale and I’m really looking forward to it.

On the day of the wedding, I will be in constant communication with our stations teams at Staines, Richmond, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo to ensure we monitor passenger numbers so that those attending the event have as safe and a comfortable journey as possible.

“This is what we are all about - serving the community we are part of. Windsor and Eton Riverside station plays a vital role in the community and we will be there helping our customers, colleagues and locals to celebrate Prince Harry and Meghan's big day.”

Jenny Saunders, Head of Stations, South Western Railway

“I get a real buzz out of helping our customers get to where they need to be and playing a small part in their special day. This event is going to be particularly rewarding as I’ll always be able to say that I played a role in getting guests to the royal wedding.

I’ll be on shift in our operational Gold Command Centre as the senior on-call manager where I’ll have an overview of our service. It’s important that our joint control centre with Network Rail manages capacity and other demands on the day. We’ll also have direct communication with our event management teams on the ground.”

Royal wedding services

South Western Railway has increased its service frequency to four direct, ten-carriage services an hour from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside, but trains will be extremely busy.

A queuing system may be in place at stations that are expected to be especially busy including London Waterloo, Staines (which is where customers travelling from the western part of the route should change at), and Windsor and Eton Riverside.

Customers planning to travel from the London area are advised to use South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside.  Customers travelling from the West, South Wales and Cotswolds should change at Reading for Great Western Railway services to Slough.

 

 

Contact

South Western Railway Press Office
press@swrailway.com

 

 

Notes to editors

For further information visit: www.southwesternrailway.com/RoyalWedding or follow @SW_Help for service updates

 

 

 

Peter Tamasfalvi, SWR-2

 

 

 

Chico Coulibaly, SWR

 

 

 

South Western Railway
Operating almost 1,700 services per day across the network, SWR employs more than 5,000 employees and provides commuter inter-urban, regional and long distance services to passengers in South West London and southern counties of England and Island Line services on the Isle of Wight, as well as providing connectivity to the ports and airports in the region.

As well as commuters and business travellers, SWR transports leisure travellers across the region, to many tourist and heritage sites, and the numerous major sporting and social events that take place along the route every year.

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