The Department for Transport (DfT) has pledged to make a £50m package of improvements for the UK’s busiest commuter network, South West Trains.
Introduced between now and February 2017, the improvements will mean see a host of benefits for rail passengers including smart ticketing, allowing joined-up single ticket journeys with London’s bus and Tube network.
The move comes as the DfT is negotiating an extension to the company’s franchise from February 2017 to April 2019.
Rail minister Claire Perry said: ‘Our franchising programme is also unlocking considerable investment from train operators.
‘This package of improvements from South West Trains, with its strong focus on customer service, is very welcome and will make a huge difference to passengers on the many busy routes served by this franchise.’
Other benefits include more services and seats - with 57,000 additional seats introduced through 73 new evening and weekend services on suburban and mainline routes and additional seating on existing services.
The new services will include an early morning train from Southampton to London on weekdays and a half-hourly service between Salisbury and London and on the Hounslow loop, running on Sunday afternoons.
Chief executive of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, Tim Shoveller, said: ‘These exciting changes will deliver the biggest package of customer focused benefits for years. As well as the expansion to our smart ticketing scheme we are also introducing more staff to our concourses so that they are able to help passengers, face to face.
‘We’re also creating hundreds of new parking spaces across the network and introducing more than 57,000 additional seats to nearly 40 improved and extra weekday and weekend services on suburban and mainline routes across the network.’
Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, told the BBC: ‘This is yet another pre-election stunt on a basketcase franchise which has a shocking reputation for reliability and overcrowding.
‘This £50m sounds like yet another sweetener for the private train operator and will have them laughing all the way to the bank.’
A DfT spokeswoman said that while the cash is coming up front from government, it is expected to increase the premium paid by a franchisee by improving the value of the network.
