Gregory Stafford MP met with South Western Railway’s new Chief Executive, Lawrence Bowman, during a visit to the Farnham Depot last week to raise concerns about ongoing disruption and to press for improvements to local services.
With SWR now under public ownership, Gregory underlined that taxpayers are funding the railway and that passengers are therefore entitled to expect reliability, value for money, and genuine progress. He made clear that the level of disruption experienced by commuters in recent months is unacceptable.
During the visit, Gregory raised several local issues:
- The ongoing delays to the rollout of the new Arterio trains, which remain out of service when they are badly needed to relieve overcrowding.
- The long waits at Farnham level crossing, which are linked to the single-track section at Bentley.
- The possibility of better coordination between Hickley’s Corner traffic lights and the rail crossing to ease congestion.
- Updates on the planned nine-day closure of the Haslemere line to replace outdated cabling.
The Chief Executive confirmed that work is underway to speed up the introduction of the Arterio fleet and highlighted the benefits of SWR now being responsible for both track and train - a change intended to deliver greater efficiency.
Following the meeting, Gregory updated his constituents on social media:
“My message to South Western Railway’s new Chief Executive was simple - commuters in our community need reliable services, not excuses.
With SWR now under public ownership, the taxpayer is footing the bill. That makes it even more important that passengers see improvements. The almost weekly disruption we’ve seen is unacceptable..."
Gregory will remain in close contact with SWR as the winter period approaches and will continue to push for the improvements local passengers deserve.
