SWR accused of ‘giving up’ on rail services by Council chiefs

Council leaders are demanding urgent government action to keep rail stations open and maintain vital train services.

They are calling on the Department for Transport to put pressure on South Western Railway (SWR) amid concerns services were cancelled across the festive period – even on non-strike days.

Cllr Alexander Ehmann, Chair of Richmond Council's Transport and Air Quality Committee, has called for a more equitable solution in future, with a focus on those areas of the borough which have little or no alternative methods of public transport.

Cllr Ehmann said; "On strike days, we appreciate that it may not be possible to operate all services and stations but there should of course be an effort to provide and publicise as much of a service as possible. However, we consider there was no excuse to basically give up on running a service at so many stations on non-strike days.

"Outside of Richmond and Twickenham Stations, there was no service to speak of for a prolonged period over the Christmas period at North Sheen, Mortlake, St. Margaret's and Strawberry Hill. In addition, the communication became too complicated with the public having little idea if a train would run or a station would open - whether it was a strike day or not. Indeed it also appears that the Journey Planners could not keep up, with timetabled trains subsequently being cancelled, removed or simply not turning up.

"We have previously raised our concerns regarding the reduction of services at our local stations during lockdown which have not been fully reinstated, including at North Sheen, St. Margaret's and Whitton. The strikes made things much worse but the dire situation was compounded by the added uncertainty of whether or not trains would be running on non-strike days.

"I realise the solution involves both the railway companies and unions but, in the event of future strikes, South Western Railway must make a greater effort to run as much of the service as possible and should certainly not cancel services and close stations en masse on non-strike days.

"Wholesale station closures leaving some communities with a service and others without are unacceptable – a greater effort is needed to provide a more equitable service. We need to be encouraging greater use of the railway to assist economic recovery and support climate change objectives but people will not return to the railway if the service is as unreliable as it has been, irrespective of whether there is a strike."

Services through Twickenham and Richmond towards Waterloo were decimated through December. As a result other stations, such as Whitton, St Margarets, North Sheen and Mortlake, were effectively been redundant for weeks.

Similarly, the line in from Shepperton through to Waterloo, which includes popular commuter stations such as Fulwell, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Teddington, and Strawberry Hill, was often at a standstill.

The Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, condemned SWR for cancelling services on non-strike days over Christmas, saying: "The disruption caused by SWR's lack of services on non-strike days means misery for passengers."

She said this caused real hardship for people desperate to get to medical appointments and public sector workers, including a police officer and cancer nurse, to get to work.

Sarah Olney MP, who represents Richmond Park, wrote to the Transport Secretary before Christmas condemning the loss of services. She complained: "The disruption is having a real impact on residents and businesses."

Travellers have condemned the company on Twitter with one saying: "Your train service has been pitiful even on non-strike days over Christmas."

Another said: "I despair! We rely on SWR for school with no other viable alternative. I'm at a loss what to do."

SWR blamed strikes and overtime bans by the RMT and ASLEF unions for the disruption. As a result, it advised the public against travelling unless 'absolutely necessary' over the festive season.