Passenger's Charter Setting out our commitment to you Valid from February 2019 - South Western Railway
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Passenger’s
Charter
Setting out our commitment to you
Valid from February 2019
1
Welcome to
South Western Railway
Our Passenger’s Charter is our
commitment to you. We work hard to make
sure every journey you take with us is easy
and enjoyable. Our Charter tells you what
you can expect from all of us at South
Western Railway (SWR), on our trains and
at our stations.
It sets out the minimum level of service we are
committed to, how we will compensate you if things
go wrong, and how you can contact us with your
suggestions and concerns.
We will review this charter regularly in consultation with
London TravelWatch, Transport Focus, the Department
for Transport and other relevant bodies to make sure it
is up to date and fair for all of our customers. If you have
any suggestions for us, we’d love to hear them. You can
let our Customer Service team know your thoughts on
0345 600 0650.
You can get copies of this charter from the staff at
our stations, from our Customer Service Centre or
from our website at www.southwesternrailway.com/
passengercharter.
Treating our customers fairly
We put our customers at the heart of everything we
do and every decision we make. Making sure you are
safe and well and that we always treat you fairly is our
highest priority. We want you to have a great experience
with SWR, so we try and make it easy to talk to us,
and we’ll always listen to you and take your individual
circumstances into account.
Your Data
Your right to privacy is very important to us and we
take the security of your information seriously, to
find out more please read our privacy policy
www.southwesternrailway.com/privacy-policy
2 1
Our Customer Report an apprenticeship scheme for 100 people a year and
We publish our Customer Report every six months, engagement with Community Rail Partnerships and
updating you on future plans along with the station adoption groups.
improvements we’ve made. It also informs you how we’re
performing against our customer satisfaction, reliability
and punctuality targets. Planning your journey
We offer advice, timetables and information about
The National Rail Conditions of Travel travelling with SWR in all sorts of ways. Here’s how you
This Passenger’s Charter sets out our commitment to can stay up to date:
you and to meeting our standards on every journey.
It does not create any new legal relationship with you as • Check the information displays at our stations.
a result of what we say we will do, nor does it affect your • Read our leaflets at our stations.
legal rights. For details of these rights please refer to the
National Rail Conditions of Travel which can be obtained o to www.southwesternrailway.com for train and
•G
at all staffed stations, from our Customer Service Centre, journey information, to book tickets and to print your
or downloaded from www.nationalrail.co.uk. own personal timetable.
•D
ownload our free Customer App from your app store
What you can expect from SWR so you can plan your journey, buy tickets and check
During the franchise, we’ll be making improvements to train times and journey information.
both our stations and our train services, including: •L
ive Chat is available on our Customer App or via our
• 90 new trains are on order and these will help us to website at www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-us
improve journey times and increase capacity across ollow us on Twitter @SW_help for live journey
•F
the network with 30% more seats in and out of London information, service updates and to have your
during peak periods. questions answered 24 hours a day.
• Improvements to car parking will be delivered through • Call our Customer Service Centre team on:
1,500 new car parking spaces.
0345 600 0650
•E
mbracing technology, our Customer App will develop
to include improved ticketing options, entertainment
features and simpler assistance in claiming
compensation.
• A £90m investment will take place across our stations
estate to improve the customer experience.
• An industry-leading apprenticeship scheme with 100
apprentices a year across a range of departments.
We value the communities we serve and will actively
engage with all stakeholders. Our desire to support local You can also get information about all trains in
areas is seen through our Customer and Communities Britain from National Rail Enquiries. Just call them
Improvement Fund (this is a fund bid for by stakeholders on 0345 748 4950 or go to www.nationalrail.co.uk
for improvements to stations as well as funding for Traveline can help you with local and
projects associated with rail travel in the communities national bus information. You can call them on
we serve, further details will be available closer to the 0871 200 2233 (network charges may apply)
launch) which will run from 2020 at £2.6m annually, or go to www.traveline.info or in London www.tfl.gov.uk
2 3
Buying your ticket Rail appointed travel agents
You can also buy tickets from some travel agents and
other outlets.
Except on the Island Line, where tickets
can be purchased from our guards, you Can’t buy a ticket? Use a ‘Permit to Travel’
must, wherever tickets are sold, buy a valid At some stations we provide a Permit to Travel machine
ticket before you board one of our trains. if no other ticket buying facilities are available. You
should insert the maximum number of coins you have,
We make it as easy as we can by offering up to the cost of your ticket. You must exchange your
several ways of buying your tickets. Permit to Travel for a ticket at the earliest opportunity,
and within 2 hours.
Buy tickets online, through the SWR app If there is no way of buying a ticket or Permit to Travel,
or by phone you may board the train without one. You will not be
You can buy tickets online using our website charged a penalty fare but you must buy a ticket as soon
www.southwesternrailway.com. Our SWR app allows as you reasonably can – from a member of staff on the
you to buy a range of tickets or, if preferred, you can buy train, at an interchange station (if you change trains
tickets and Railcards by phoning our Customer Service and can do so without missing a connection) or at your
Centre. We accept most major credit and debit cards. destination station.
Advance tickets can be purchased up to 6 weeks in
advance of travel. Use your smartcard
If you have a smartcard, you can choose to buy and load
You can receive your tickets via email as an eTicket (bar
your ticket on to the card instead of receiving a paper
code). Or we can send them by post, but please allow
ticket. This can make it more convenient for you, because
5 working days for delivery.
a number of different tickets can all be loaded on one
smartcard, and they are more durable than paper tickets.
Ticket machines Smartcards can be ordered on our website.
All our stations (except Beaulieu Road, Holton Heath, For more information on Smart ticketing go to
Longcross, Millbrook and Redbridge) have self-service www.southwesternrailway.com/smart
ticket machines where you can purchase tickets.
They offer a wide choice of destinations and fares Refunds if you decide not to travel
including weekly and monthly season tickets.
If the train you planned to catch is delayed or cancelled
Buy a ticket from our full range at our and you decide not to travel, you will be given a full
refund. The same applies if you cannot complete your
ticket offices
journey due to disruption and return to the starting point.
Our ticket office staff will sell you the most suitable ticket Just return the unused ticket as soon as you reasonably
for your journey, including Railcards and reservations. can (and within 28 days of its expiry date) to where it
You can pay by cash, rail travel vouchers, rail warrants or was purchased. The full refund in this case also applies,
most major credit and debit cards. exceptionally, to advance tickets.
Ticket office opening hours are displayed at every If the train service is running normally and you decide
staffed station and are also available on our website or by not to use your ticket, we will refund your fare less an
contacting our Customer Service Centre. Times of peak administration fee (currently £10). The exception to this
demand at the ticket office are shown at the station. is advance tickets which are not refundable if the train
We try hard to make sure that you do not have to queue service was running normally.
at ticket machines or ticket offices for longer than 5 Return your ticket within 28 days of its expiry date to
minutes in the peak or 3 minutes at other times. where it was bought.
4 5
A refund may be payable on the unused portion of a
season ticket. Return the ticket to the station, or agent Travelling with us
from where you bought it, and we will calculate the
refund from the date of surrender. Season ticket refunds Help and advice during your journey
are based on the difference between the cost of the All our staff on trains and at stations are available to help
season ticket originally purchased and the cost of a if you need advice. We have a member of staff on every
season ticket for the period up to the date the ticket is train when services are running normally and 24-hour
surrendered. Because season tickets offer significant Help Points at all our stations (normally on the platform).
savings for the daily traveller, you may find that your Alternatively, you can call our Customer Service Centre
refund is negligible if there is only a small proportion of or National Rail Enquiries.
the validity remaining. For example, an annual season
ticket has no refund value after 40 weeks. Please don’t bring more luggage onto the train than you
can carry. You can find out how much in the National Rail
There are additional support measures in place relating Conditions of Travel or by calling our Customer Service
to season tickets valid for a month or longer, these Centre on 0345 600 0650. You may bring up to 2 dogs
provide you with options should your circumstances on the train and they must be kept on a lead for the
change (for example you move house or your work duration of the journey. Smaller animals must be kept in
location changes), and you wish to change your ticket for a pet carrier. For further information on the carriage of
an alternative. luggage, please refer to the National Rail Conditions of
These conditions also cover you if your ticket is lost Travel or our website. www.southwesternrailway.com/
or damaged (for example it no longer operates the luggage
automatic ticket barriers).
Making sure you have a valid ticket
For further information please refer to the
season ticket terms and conditions on our website Please make sure that you have a valid ticket before
www.southwesternrailway.com/season-tickets you travel. You can join any SWR service if you have an
anytime or season ticket. However, advance tickets are
only valid on the date and train shown on the ticket and
Penalty fares
there are time restrictions on some days for holders of
We know that the clear majority of our passengers buy Off Peak tickets.
a valid ticket before travelling and we have a duty to
these passengers to make sure no one travels without If you forget your Railcard and have to pay full fare or buy
paying. For this reason, we run a Penalty Fares scheme another ticket, we’ll refund the extra cost if you meet the
across our network (except on Island Line). If you travel following conditions.
without a valid ticket (or validated Oyster card) or without • You must claim a refund within 28 days of the expiry
authority to do so you may be liable for a penalty fare. date on your ticket
Our Revenue Protection Policy is based upon a common • You’ll need to upload a photo or scan of your Railcard
sense approach ensuring that we treat all customers and Photocard, plus another form of ID that shows your
fairly. You can find details of our Revenue Protection full name
Policy at www.southwesternrailway.com/other/about-
us/penalty-faresrevenue-protection • Your Railcard must be valid for the day and time of
travel
Our Penalty Fares leaflet has more details and is available
from all staffed stations, our Customer Service Centre or • You’ll need to send us the original tickets,
our website. not photocopies
• You’ll need to send us any Penalty Fare or Unpaid
Fare Notice
6 7
If you received a Penalty Fare or Unpaid Fare Notice for
failing to show your Railcard, you can ask us to cancel it.
We will give one refund for a forgotten Railcard in
any 12 month period. All claims for refund must be
directed to our customer service centre, details of how
to claim a refund are shown on our website.
www.southwesternrailway.com/refunds
Ticket gates
Automatic ticket gates operate at a number of stations
across the network and we are installing new gates across
the network as well as having extended the operational
hours of the current gatelines. This improves customer
and staff security as well as reducing the number of
people travelling without a ticket.
If you need to keep your ticket, please speak to staff,
show them your ticket and they will let you through
the gates.
Getting a seat
SWR operates a ‘walk on’ service, which means that
there are no reserved seats and you are free to choose
where you sit. We provide as many seats as we can to
minimise the number of passengers who have to stand,
but we cannot guarantee you a seat, especially during
peak periods or during disruption.
Standard class tickets are not valid in first class
unless you have purchased an upgrade or paid the
appropriate excess fare before boarding the train.
www.southwesternrailway.com/firstclass, First class
weekend upgrades can be purchased on train. For
exceptions please see our commitment to expectant
mothers (page 15). Visually impaired passengers
travelling with registered assistance dogs (registered
guide or assistance dogs on board, provided they’ve been
trained by an organisation that’s a member of Assistance
Dogs (UK), the International Guide Dog Federation or
Assistance Dogs International) are also permitted to
transfer to first class if all standard seats are occupied.
810 9
Changing trains Catering on trains
If you are changing trains and the train you are on runs We provide an ‘at seat’ catering service on our longer
late we will, if possible, hold the connection, but this may distance services. The services where this facility is
not always be possible. Your ticket is valid on the next available can be found in our timetable.
available service.
Please note that the catering service may not be
Keeping you secure available at weekends if the train service is changed
because of engineering work, particularly on early
We work in partnership with the British Transport Police, morning or late evening services. In some cases it may
Network Rail, and local authorities to improve security at not be available for the full journey of the train. If the
our stations, on our trains, and in our car parks. To help advertised catering service is unavailable we will do our
reduce crime and perceptions of insecurity we operate best to let you know before you join the train.
CCTV on all stations and trains, provide help points on
every station platform, deploy a team of Rail Community
Officers on the network and provide security guards at
Smoking
key locations to deal with antisocial behaviour. For the comfort and safety of all our customers, smoking
and the use of e-cigarettes is not permitted on any of our
Please alert our staff directly or through the help points if trains or at our stations.
you see any suspicious or antisocial behaviour.
Smoking is allowed in car parks and on open forecourts.
Supporting bike use
We welcome the integration of train and bike travel.
We provide cycle storage areas at most of our stations,
covered by CCTV cameras, where this is practicable.
We will carry compact fully folding bikes (with wheels of Have you lost something?
up to 20’’ in diameter) on any train or replacement rail
service provided they are folded and stowed as luggage. All lost property is sent to the South Western
However, as many of our trains get very busy, there is Railway Lost Property Office at London Waterloo
not always room to carry (non-folding) bikes safely and station. It is open from 07:30 to 19:00, Monday to
comfortably. For this reason, we can’t carry non-folding Friday. We’re closed at weekends and Bank Holidays.
bikes on most peak time commuter services in and out We have partnered with MissingX, the world’s largest
of London. lost and found database. To find your lost item, please
On services outside of London and some off peak perform a search of our network first using the date you
services where bikes are allowed, we allocate space on lost the item at www.missingx.com
a ‘first come, first served’ basis. The Waterloo to Exeter/ You can register your lost item online at www.
Bristol route is an exception and you will need to reserve southwesternrailway.com/lostproperty, or by phoning
a space for your bike. This is free, and can be done at the Lost Property Office on
staffed stations or via our Customer Service Centre, 0207 401 7861.
ideally at least 24 hours before you travel.
Please allow a minimum of 24 hours for the items to be
Our cycle policy is published in a separate leaflet and our received there. You may be charged (guidance on these
timetables show where bikes may not be carried. charges is available in the lost property section of our
www.southwesternrailway.com/cycles website) for the return of your item. You will be advised
of this cost if your item is found.
10 11
Help and assistance
We are committed to meeting the needs
of all our passengers and we will help you
if you need assistance in planning and
making your journey. We want to make
sure that nothing we do creates a barrier to
using our services for anyone.
Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP)
Our Disabled People’s Protection Policy outlines the
commitment to helping our disabled and mobility
impaired customers.
You can read a copy of the policy on our website
www.southwesternrailway.com/assistedtravel or ask
our station staff for a copy of the booklet. The DPPP is
available in alternative formats from our Assisted Travel
team 0800 528 2100.
Passenger assistance
Our Customer Service Centre can advise passengers
with disabilities about travelling with us. If you need help,
please contact our Freephone Assisted Travel service on
0800 528 2100 or use the online form on our website.
If you or somebody travelling with you needs assistance,
please try to let us know 12 hours before travel for
journeys on our services between any two of the stations
we manage.
Between 06:00 and 22:00 hours, only 4 hours’ notice
will be required for journeys between any two of the
following stations: Basingstoke; Bournemouth; Clapham
Junction; Earlsfield; Feltham; Guildford; Kingston; London
Waterloo; New Malden; Norbiton; Portsmouth and
Southsea; Portsmouth Harbour; Putney; Queenstown
Road; Raynes Park; Richmond; Salisbury; Southampton
Central; Staines; Surbiton; Twickenham; Vauxhall;
Wandsworth Town; Wimbledon; Winchester; and
Woking.
For journeys that go beyond South Western Railway we
recommend that you give us 24 hours notice.
We understand that it’s not always possible to let us
know if you require any assistance before travelling and
12 13
we will do all we can to help on the day. Assistance may Reduced price tickets
take some time, but if we cannot help, our staff will do There are reduced fares for disabled passengers.
their best to explain why. Information on the full range of discounts available
is shown in the Disabled Persons Railcard leaflet.
Reserving a wheelchair space This includes discounts with or without the purchase
We provide wheelchair spaces and priority seating on of a Disabled Persons Railcard. The leaflet is available
all services. Wheelchair spaces can be reserved on long at staffed stations or from our Customer Service
distance services, by contacting our Assisted Travel Centre. Details may also be found on our website
team. Reservations are made on a first-come-first- www.southwesternrailway.com/disabledpersonsrailcard
served basis. or disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk
Station and train access Accessible Information
Unfortunately, not all our stations offer step-free access. We provide induction loops at every station ticket
If steps are a problem for you, we will arrange alternative office and on all help points to assist hearing aid users.
transport (usually a taxi) at no extra cost. This transport If you need information in an alternative format such
will take you to and from the nearest or the most as Braille, audio or large print, please contact our
convenient accessible station. Customer Service Centre.
If stations are accessible to you but unstaffed, our
on-train staff will help you get on and off the train. Expectant mothers or travelling with
young children
We have ramps on most of our trains as well as
at stations to help wheelchair users and other From 1 January 2019, all expectant mothers can apply
mobility-impaired passengers to get on and off our for our Baby on Board badge free of charge. This visible
trains. Every train has a guard who will help with ramps. symbol will help other customers to know that you may
require a seat. We will be discontinuing our 1st class
A map showing which stations have step-free access upgrade which currently is only available to season ticket
is available on www.southwesternrailway.com/ holders. All customers with a 1st class upgrade will have
assistedtravel and within our Making Rail Accessible their upgrades honoured.
Policy, available online, from our staffed stations and
customer services. All of our trains with toilets have at least one facility that
offers a baby-change table and space for a pushchair.
Car parking If you need help lifting your pushchair onto the platform
or onto a train, our staff will help you, providing that
At most stations we provide marked bays for Blue Badge they are physically able to do so and that you carry
holders. Where these are within the station’s chargeable your child separately.
parking area, the normal daily car parking rate will apply.
14 15Planned engineering work
Our aim is to provide information on planned If Things Go Wrong
changes at least 6 weeks in advance on our website We work with Network Rail and other operators to do
southwesternrailway.com. We will include this our best to avoid cancellations and minimise delays.
information within our published timetables when we
can. Information regarding planned engineering work
is also available on the SWR and National Rail Enquiries More information is available on our website
journey planning apps. At every station this information www.southwesternrailway.com/pidd
is displayed on our ‘Changes to train times’ posters
However, disruption can and does happen. When it does,
closer to the time. You can also follow us on Twitter @
we commit to:
SW_Railway and @SW_Help or call the Customer
Service Centre on 0345 6000 650 for updates. • Keeping you informed at stations and on trains
by providing as much information as possible
Short notice engineering work about delays.
Sometimes engineering work has to be carried out at • If
the train you are on is delayed during your trip, getting
very short notice. When this happens, we aim to provide you to the station you are going to if we can – by bus or
you with the information you need to make your journey. taxi if we need to. If we cannot get you to that station,
we will take you to the station that will work best for
Information on all engineering work is available from you. If we cannot do either of these things, we will
National Rail Enquiries, our website and our Customer provide you with somewhere to stay for the night, so
Service Centre. Our staff at stations and on trains will you can continue your journey the next day.
also be able to help you. •P
roviding free non-alcoholic refreshments (when
available, while stocks last) on trains that are delayed
Bus replacement services for an hour or more.
When it is not possible to provide a train service due to •O
perating a simplified process offering compensation
closure of the track, we will provide a replacement bus when it is due through delay repay which can be
service. We regret that you will not be able to take the claimed online, or by paper application form available at
following items on the replacement bus services: staffed stations.
• Large items of luggage. You can also get up to date travel information on our
services through:
• Prams and pushchairs that do not fold.
• Our website www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-
• Cycles that do not fold. journey
• Animals (with the exception of assistance dogs). • Our customer information screens at stations
We have published our Passenger Information During • Twitter @SW_Railway, @SW_Help
Disruption (PIDD) Local Plan as part of our efforts to be • SWR APP, or National Rail Enquires journey
more transparent than ever before. It details: planning App
• How and when we will keep you informed of incidents
affecting the train service
• Who is responsible for the various aspects of returning
the train service to normal, and
• The standards that we aim to meet.
16 17Compensation for delays
If you’re travelling on one of our services and are
delayed by 15 minutes or longer, you can claim
compensation under our Delay Repay scheme.
This also applies if delay to or cancellation of your
SWR service causes you to miss a connecting National
Rail train. Where an emergency timetable or amended
timetable is in place, delays are calculated according
to the revised timetable. An emergency or amended
timetable may be introduced for a number of reasons,
including but not limited to, for example, planned or
emergency engineering work, industrial action and
severe weather conditions.
Delay Repay
If your train is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled
to claim compensation under our ‘Delay Repay’ scheme.
This also applies if the delay or cancellation of an SWR
train causes you to arrive late at your destination when
connecting to other National Rail services.
Regardless of the reason for the delay, we will offer the
following compensation.
Length Amount of compensation available
of delay for tickets purchased
(minutes)
Single ticket Return ticket Season ticket
15-29 25% 12.5% 25%
30-59 50% 25% 50%
60-119 100% 50% 100%
120 or more 100% 100% 100%
Of the
Of the cost Of the cost
value of
of the single of the return
the delayed
ticket ticket
journey
18 19The length of delay will be based on the published available online and at staffed stations. We will also
timetable, which can include any emergency timetable or publicise through our website and Customer App when
amended timetable. Where an amended or emergency compensation is payable.
timetable is in place, we will publish this in advance.
Applying for compensation
If you are travelling with a season ticket, your Delay
To enable us to process your claim for Delay Repay
Repay compensation will be based on (and will never be
compensation you must apply within 28 days of your
greater than) the total cost of two single journeys. This
delay. The easiest way to claim your compensation is
will be calculated in the following way.
via the dedicated compensation page on our website,
delayrepay.southwesternrailway.com. You can make an
Type of season ticket Value of the delayed journey
individual claim or, if you register with us, your details will
Weekly 1/10 x total ticket price be saved to make it easier for you to make future claims
and to be able to claim via our Customer App. Season
Monthly 1/40 x total ticket price ticket holders can also log details of the ticket and
Quarterly 1/120 x total ticket price upload a photograph or scan which can be used for
future claims.
Annual 1/464 x total ticket price
You can also pick up a paper application form at your
local station, which you can hand in to a member of staff
If you have any additional comments to make in relation
or post to us free of charge. We aim to process claims
to your journey experience please complete the form
within 15 working days. All paper application claims will
found on our website: www.southwesternrailway.com/
be refunded in Rail Travel Vouchers.
contact-and-help/contact-us-form
You will need to show us your ticket receipt, collection
If you have a combination of tickets for your journey,
receipt, booking reference email or any sales voucher
we will compensate you for your whole journey.
when you make a claim. We will also accept a photograph
If part of your journey was with another train company, or scan of the ticket or, for season ticket holders, the
we will compensate you if we caused the delay. If we did ticket number.
not, we will pass the application on and ask the other
If your destination station has an automatic ticket gate,
train company to contact you. We will always let you
please explain to the staff member managing the gates
know when we have done this.
that you wish to retain your ticket to make a claim. If
In the Spring of 2019 we will be introducing automatic you have paid by Oyster card or Contactless payment,
Delay Repay for the following ticket types. we know you won’t have a physical ticket to scan or
return to claim compensation. We will need to see
i. advance purchase train-specific fare tickets booked
either your Oyster season ticket: a receipt showing the
and/or purchased via the SWR website; and
date of purchase, the price paid and the zones covered
ii. smart season tickets which have been booked and/ by the Oyster card. Or, if using Oyster pay as you go or
or purchased via the SWR website. Contactless payment: a print-out showing where you
touched in and out and the cost of your journey. If your
Informing you of your compensation rights
card is registered, you can obtain a statement by visiting
We will explain how you may make compensation claims www.tfl.gov.uk.
through the Delay Repay mechanism, on posters at
Compensation will be paid by either BACS payment,
stations and on trains, and on our website and Customer
Card payment (excluding American Express or Building
App through easy-to-follow links.
Society) or Rail Travel Vouchers. These may be
When there are delays of 15 minutes or more, we will used in full or part payment for any rail journey on any
make on-train announcements about compensation train company.
(including the claim process) claims forms are
20 21Exclusions
In line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel, SWR
Listening to your views
will always consider all additional compensation claims Your feedback is important to us and we
for any losses or extra costs caused by the cancellation
or delay to our services (For example, the cost of a new offer customers a variety of opportunities
plane ticket if you miss a flight). This does not affect throughout the year to discuss issues, ask
your legal rights to make claims under the Consumer Act questions and comment on our service.
2015. Please complete the complaint form on our website
www.southwesternrailway.com/makeacomplaint We take your views seriously and the
Note: You must not seek to recover the same money feedback you give us will directly influence
twice for example both under our claims process and our business decisions.
the Consumer Rights Act 2015. However, claiming
compensation using our claims process does not affect
any additional statutory rights you may have, for example Online Customer Forum
under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where we as a You can use our new online forum to feedback on our
company are at fault. performance and help shape future business decisions
such as timetable changes and station improvements.
The forum can be accessed through our website and will
be available to all customers, once they have registered
with us.
Meet the Manager Sessions
We will hold Meet the Manager sessions at stations
around the network and on board our trains.
These sessions will give you the opportunity to talk face-
to-face with our senior management team. We will tell
you about the projects we are working on to improve your
railway and listen to your feedback on how we are doing.
You can expect to receive responses to concerns raised
at these sessions and gain an insight into the running of
our business. Look out for the meeting programme on
our website or on station posters.
2622 29
23Customer App
You can also use our new Customer App to book tickets
online, check journey information, access our passenger
forum, report crimes to British Transport Police and
access our compensation claim process.
Live Chat
Live Chat is available on our Customer App or via our
website at www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-us
and is available for general enquiries 24 hours a day, 7
days a week (with the exception of Christmas Day and
Boxing Day).
Making a comment or complaint
Our specialist Customer Service Centre team is there to
receive your comments or resolve your complaint. If your
issue is with another train company, we will forward the
correspondence to the correct company and tell you we
have done so, giving you that company’s contact details.
Comments forms are available at all staffed stations,
and our Customer Comments and Complaints Handling
Procedure is available from our Customer Service Centre
or can be viewed on our website.
Our response times
We aim to respond to all letters and emails from
customers within 5 working days (providing a full answer
to 95% of customers within 20 working days), answer
80% of customers phone calls within 20 seconds and
respond to 90% of live chat requests from customers
within 1 minute
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30Contact information
South Western Railway Customer know. If possible, they will transfer
Service Centre your complaint to another organisation
Write to us at: that may be able to help you further,
Freepost, such as Transport Focus or London
SWR Customer Relations TravelWatch – the independent
consumer watchdogs for the rail
Phone: 0345 600 0650 industry. They will independently
Textphone: 0800 692 0792 review your complaint and where
Using the online form on our website: appropriate, follow up on your behalf.
www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-us Web: www.railombudsman.org
If you are unhappy with our reply, please let us know. Opening Hours:
Rail Ombudsman: Monday to Friday 08:00 – 20:00
Please give us the opportunity to try to resolve Saturday and Bank Holidays
your complaint. 08:00 – 13:00 (excluding Christmas
Day)
If you are unhappy with the response you receive, you
have the right to appeal to the Rail Ombudsman. The Rail Email: info@railombudsman.org
Ombudsman is there to help resolve ongoing complaints/ Phone: 0330 094 0362
disputes between us and our customers/passengers.
It’s free to use their services and they are independent Textphone: 0330 094 0363
of the rail industry. They don’t take sides, but just look Post: FREEPOST – RAIL OMBUDSMAN
at the evidence available. They will help us both to try to
reach an agreement, but if this doesn’t happen, they will
make a decision based on the evidence they’ve received.
If you agree with their, decision, we have to act on what
they say.
You can appeal to the Rail Ombudsman if:
You’re unhappy with our final response to your complaint
which will be contained in a letter or email (sometimes
called a ‘Deadlock Letter’)
• We haven’t resolved your complaint within 40 working
days of receiving it and
• No more than 12 months have passed since we sent
you our final response.
There are some complaints that the Rail Ombudsman
won’t be able to look into, for example if it’s about the way
one of our services has been designed, industry policy,
or if your complaint relates to an event which took place
before the Rail Ombudsman service was introduced.
If that’s the case, then they will contact you to let you
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Visit us at
southwesternrailway.com
• Buying tickets online • Plan your journey
• Special offers • Train times
and days out • Latest news
• Live train information
Free Travel Alerts
southwesternrailway.com/alerts
Keeping our registered customers up-to-date with their
service running information, delays and alterations.
Twitter Customer Service
@SW_Railway @SW_Help
Follow South Western Railway on Twitter and be the
first to know what’s happening on our network.
Facebook.com/SWRailway
Providing South Western Railway network information
and details of our latest offers.
Customer Service Centre
0345 600 0650
Our UK based team are available 7 days a week from
6am to 22:00 for:
• Ticket sales by credit or debit card
• Comments and suggestions
Assisted Travel
0800 528 2100 Textphone
0800 692 0792
A freephone service open 24 hours for older and
disabled passengers. We recommend booking
assistance 12 hours in advance.
National Rail Enquiries
0345 748 4950
Train times, fares and rail information.
Please Recycle
First MTR South Western Trains Limited. Registered in England and Wales number 07900320.
4th Floor, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London, NW1 5DH.
SWR0000000156
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