It is certainly fair to say that passengers have probably not yet noticed the benefits these changes have been bringing, due to bad infrastructure delays we have suffered during recent peaks. However, without the changes we've made, delays during these times would have been considerably worse.
These changes build on those we introduced in May 2003, which have been successful in making peak services more robust. We simplified the rolling-stock plan, dedicating units to specific routes to stop delays spreading. We also started running an eight-car suburban railway all day to avoid the need to attach and detach carriages at London Waterloo.
In the past 18 months, delays directly controlled by South West Trains have decreased by over 30 per cent. Our challenge is to maintain this improvement and continue to work with Network Rail to improve infrastructure performance.
Andrew Haines, Managing Director