SWR has now been operating for around 9 months. They seem to have had a mixed start to their life as a TOC, with several of the positives and negatives I have found listed below. I can only speak for the long distance lines (e.g London to Weymouth) as I do not travel on the suburban routes. I still think there are a lot of areas which still need to be worked on, with the impending overhaul of the timetable in December likely to cause new major problems, especially with respect to connections. Interested to hear everyone's opinions to how you think SWR have fared, and any improvements you think they can make.
Positives:
- Train cleanliness has generally been maintained well
- After my initial doubts, the train liveries look reasonable.
- Seem to be more ticket checks
Negatives:
- Far fewer deals on tickets (i.e £20 day returns) & advance tickets seem to be more expensive.
- A lot of services consistently seem to be 10-14 minutes late. SWR seem to make sure as a priority that trains do not reach the 15 minute delayed mark, to avoid compensation claims.
- Increased stop skipping, and pining of services (e.g terminating at Dorchester/ Wareham instead of Weymouth)
Positives:
- Train cleanliness has generally been maintained well
- After my initial doubts, the train liveries look reasonable.
- Seem to be more ticket checks
Negatives:
- Far fewer deals on tickets (i.e £20 day returns) & advance tickets seem to be more expensive.
- A lot of services consistently seem to be 10-14 minutes late. SWR seem to make sure as a priority that trains do not reach the 15 minute delayed mark, to avoid compensation claims.
- Increased stop skipping, and pining of services (e.g terminating at Dorchester/ Wareham instead of Weymouth)
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