South Western Railway

South Western Railway

A South Western Railway Class 444 near Southampton Airport Parkway in April 2021
Overview
Franchise(s)	South Western 20 August 2017 – 28 May 2025
Main region(s)	Greater London South East England South West England
Fleet size	Class 158 Express Sprinter Class 159 South Western Turbo Class 444 Desiro Class 450 Desiro Class 455 Class 458 Juniper Class 484 D-Train Class 701 Arterio[2] Class 707 Desiro City
Parent company	FirstGroup (70%) MTR Corporation (30%)
Reporting mark	SW[1]
Predecessor	South West Trains
Other
Website	www.southwesternrailway.com

South Western Railway (SWR; legal name First MTR South Western Trains Limited,^[3]) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup (70%) and MTR Corporation (30%) that operates the South Western franchise.

On 20 August 2017, SWR took over South Western franchise operations from the previous franchisee South West Trains. SWR operates commuter services from its Central London terminus at London Waterloo to south west London. SWR provides suburban services in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset, as well as regional services in Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire. Its subsidiary Island Line operates services on the Isle of Wight. Rolling stock changes have included a comprehensive refurbishment of existing units and the acquisition of new-build Class 701 units from Bombardier to replace SWR's Class 455, and Class 707 multiple units. The Class 483 fleet operated on the Island Line was also replaced by the Class 484 during 2021.

During April 2018, amid concerns of SWR's performance, the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, announced an independent review into SWR and Network Rail. Between 2 December 2019 and 2 January 2020, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) undertook 27 days of strikes. Further industrial action by SWR's staff was undertaken in 2022. In response to the decrease in passenger travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, SWR had considerably curtailed its services by mid-2020. In January 2020, SWR announced that they were in discussions with the government regarding the future of the franchise. In December 2020, it was announced that SWR's franchise would be abolished and replaced by a shorter management contract. In February 2023, the contract was extended to May 2025.