South Western is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from
London Waterloo
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
to destinations in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
and
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
on the
South West
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
West of England
West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan N ...
main lines. In 2007, the franchise was combined with the smaller franchise for the
Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to:
* Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong
* Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England
** Island Line (brand)
Island Line is a brand of the ...
on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
.
History
South West Trains
In December 1995, the
Director of Passenger Rail Franchising
The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising was a statutory office in the United Kingdom created in 1993 by the Railways Act 1993 and usually called the Franchising Director. It lasted from 5 November 1993 until 31 January 2001 when it was supe ...
awarded the franchise to South West Trains, a subsidiary of
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
. Operations started on 4 February 1996.
In April 2001, the
Strategic Rail Authority
The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for Rail transport in the United Kingdom, the railway industry. Its motto was 'Brita ...
(SRA) awarded Stagecoach a new franchise after it beat bids from
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.NedRailways and
Sea Containers
Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two main business areas: transport and container leasing. It filed for bankruptcy on 16 October 2006. In 2009 its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company SeaCo ...
. The 2001 franchises awarded were (as
promulgated
Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect.
After a new law ...
) to run for 20 years, but in 2002 the SRA reduced the duration of franchises and South West Trains was awarded a three-year franchise starting on 1 February 2004.
In December 2005, the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
(DfT) announced that
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.MTR/Sea Containers,
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to tender for the new South Western franchise, which combined the South West Trains and Island Line Trains franchises, both being operated by Stagecoach. National Express and MTR/Sea Containers later withdrew. In September 2006, the DfT awarded the franchise to Stagecoach commencing on 4 February 2007 for a period of ten years.
In March 2013, the
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...
announced the DfT were in talks with Stagecoach to extend the franchise until April 2019. However, after failing to negotiate an extension, in July 2015 the DfT announced the franchise would be relet.
South Western Railway
In February 2016, the DfT announced FirstGroup and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the next franchise. In June 2016, MTR took a 30% shareholding in the FirstGroup bid.
In July 2016, the DfT issued the Invitation to Tender. In March 2017, the DfT awarded the franchise to First/MTR owned South Western Railway to commence on 20 August 2017. It will run until at least August 2024, with an option for the DfT to extend for a further year.First MTR joint venture wins South Western franchise ''Railway Gazette International'' 27 March 2017