| SWR improvements under GBR Posted by John D at 05:11, 9th December 2025 |     |
DfT has listed some improvements for nationalised operators under GBR as part of its livery launch
South Western Railway
In public ownership, South Western Railway are:
Modernising and improving their West of England Fleet, with a programme beginning in December 2025 (to be completed during 2028). This will overhaul the 15X fleet serving the West of England, improving performance and reliability of the trains while delivering customer benefits such as interior upgrades and at-seat USB power.
Delivering the new Arterio fleet to transform their suburban network, with over 50% of morning high peak arrivals into Waterloo now on Arterio trains. These provide increased capacity and more comfort for passengers. SWR are aiming for most Arterios to be introduced by the end of Summer 2026 (75% of total schedules).
Building a new timetable for the first time in 20 years, by consulting with stakeholders and passengers, with design in early 2026 and a full public consultation in Autumn 2026. The timetable transformation will seek to strike the right balance between enhanced connectivity in their communities, more services and capacity, better train performance on the network and increased economic value for the taxpayer.
Investing over £600 million in improving infrastructure performance to reduce delays and cancellations, complete by March 2027. This includes track and signal renewals, level crossing upgrades, and renewal of associated infrastructure, with projects such as West of England line resilience works, London Waterloo-Clapham Junction upgrades, Island Line improvements, and strengthening the railway at Fareham-Havant and Portsmouth Harbour.
Recruiting more drivers to improve reliability and reduce cancellations, with an increase in the numbers of drivers in active service each year, and increase the number of new drivers in training by 50%.
In public ownership, South Western Railway are:
Modernising and improving their West of England Fleet, with a programme beginning in December 2025 (to be completed during 2028). This will overhaul the 15X fleet serving the West of England, improving performance and reliability of the trains while delivering customer benefits such as interior upgrades and at-seat USB power.
Delivering the new Arterio fleet to transform their suburban network, with over 50% of morning high peak arrivals into Waterloo now on Arterio trains. These provide increased capacity and more comfort for passengers. SWR are aiming for most Arterios to be introduced by the end of Summer 2026 (75% of total schedules).
Building a new timetable for the first time in 20 years, by consulting with stakeholders and passengers, with design in early 2026 and a full public consultation in Autumn 2026. The timetable transformation will seek to strike the right balance between enhanced connectivity in their communities, more services and capacity, better train performance on the network and increased economic value for the taxpayer.
Investing over £600 million in improving infrastructure performance to reduce delays and cancellations, complete by March 2027. This includes track and signal renewals, level crossing upgrades, and renewal of associated infrastructure, with projects such as West of England line resilience works, London Waterloo-Clapham Junction upgrades, Island Line improvements, and strengthening the railway at Fareham-Havant and Portsmouth Harbour.
Recruiting more drivers to improve reliability and reduce cancellations, with an increase in the numbers of drivers in active service each year, and increase the number of new drivers in training by 50%.
https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gbr-improvements-train-operators-in-public-ownership-are-making-for-customers
