SWR Help Anmeldelser 693

I take the train to sixth form every day, sometimes using the train multiple times a day during my free lessons. I can't count the amount of times that a last minute delay or cancellation has lead to me being late for my lessons with no good reason from South Western railway. What is just a few minutes to them means missed learning for me. Recently however the service has become absolutely appalling. In the past week I can not even count how many times I have had a problem with the trains.

I arrived at the station the other day on time for the train only to be notified that actually the train was delayed. The info boards on the platform all stated that the delay wouldn't be long so I sat and waited. The train's predicted times only became further and further away whilst their online information told me that two trains had come through the platform whilst I was there which they clearly hadn't because I think I would've noticed! I had no choice but to sit on the platform and wait in the freezing cold and rain as I had no clue when the train would actually turn up as their information was clearly lying so couldn't go and find somewhere warm and dry to wait nearby. After over an hour of waiting and the trains being pushed further and further back, I got onto an overcrowded ten carriage train. The train started moving and only then was I informed this train would be terminating early and I would have to get off and wait for another train again in the cold and rain. Everyone gets off this train, the platform is packed to a dangerous level, so much so that not everyone would fit behind the yellow line. We were all being yelled at by employees to stay behind the yellow line when there clearly was no space. Finally another train arrives to take everyone to the final stop on the line that the original train was meant to go to, everyone going to other stops would have to wait ages for another train. This train was a three carriage train and they somehow thought it would fit everyone off the ten carriage train from before. All in all a very unpleasant experience. And to add insult to injury when I submitted my claim to be compensated for the delay South Western railways decided to reject my claim, telling me a train was at the platform on time when it clearly wasn't because I was sat there the whole time and didn't see a single train! Very unhappy.

Today however was much worse than anything I'd experienced before. When I arrived at the station there was an employee with a microphone telling everyone that all services had been cancelled which lead to a lot of confusion when the train showed up on time. I boarded the train and we were told the train was going to take a route. We were told many different tings about where this train was headed whilst we were on it and ended up at a small station about fifteen minutes away from where we wanted to go, which was not even a station on the original journey and made no sense for them to take us there. Me and my friend had bought tickets to go to another station that we were told would we would be going to, After we believed we would no longer be able to get to our original station, but then south western railways changed their minds again, leaving us with tickets we couldn't use and they probably won't refund. Me and my friend have a nice day out and then head back to the station close by to where we originally wanted to go. We get to the station and all of the information boards say all the trains are fine. We get onto the platform and quickly realise this is not the case and if we wait for the next train which was an hour away they'll end up delaying it further. It's starting to get late and as a teen girls we obviously don't feel very safe being out late, South Western railway offered no help in getting us home. We ended up having to find our own alternate route which I'm not sure our tickets were even valid for and having to get four different trains and over two hours just to complete what should've been a half hour journey. I know that the situation today was out of South Western railway's control but the way that they handled it was not. Overall, there was inconsistent messages, unhelpful announcements and no assistance there when needed.

On a more positive note however, on a normal day, the staff are generally very helpful and kind. Very easy to approach with any questions you may have. I think they could definitely use more training on how to assist customers during delays.

I am beyond disappointed with the service from South Western Railway. I use this train service every single day to get to and from work, and honestly the experience keeps getting worse instead of improving. Constant delays, cancellations, overcrowded trains, last-minute platform changes, and absolutely no reliability whatsoever.

People pay a huge amount of money for these tickets expecting a basic level of service, yet every week there seems to be another problem. It has reached the point where commuting has become stressful and exhausting. Delays regularly affect the start and end of my working day, making me late for work, late getting home, and completely disrupting daily life.

What makes the experience even worse is the attitude of the staff at London Waterloo station. Many staff members are unhelpful, dismissive, and often rude when passengers are simply trying to get information during delays or cancellations. Instead of helping stressed commuters, they make the situation even more frustrating.

What is most upsetting is that these problems are not occasional — they happen constantly. Passengers are expected to accept poor service while fares continue to rise. Communication during disruptions is poor, accountability is non-existent, and loyal customers are treated with very little respect.

For many commuters, this is not a luxury service — it is something we depend on every day to earn a living and manage our lives. Sadly, South Western Railway continues to fail its customers on a daily basis. After years of using this company, I can honestly say the service quality has seriously declined and confidence in this railway is at an all-time low.

Absolutely would not recommend.

I can’t believe I am giving SWR five stars, believe me it is not for the train service as that really is poo! It is for a revenue guard who stopped me this morning as I was using my gold card and she initially thought you could only use it after 0930hrs. During our discussions I was slightly agitated having paid £7400 for a card I was being told I could only use after 0930. However, she was polite, firm but friendly throughout and between us managed to sort the issue. If the train service was a reflection of this individual all reviews would be five stars. Apologies for me being slightly agitated.

I have commuted on SWT for the last 17 years and pod my fares and season ticket. Today was a real low, trains stranded and worst of all zero comms from the crew. We had kids on board writing their GCSE exams so lots of tears and distress. As a dad it was heartbreaking… the simplest of updates or even just saying we are going to be stuck for a long time would have enabled us/them to make alternative plans. In this day and age of instant comms and a supposedly customer facing service provider (that we pay a lot to use)…on behalf of this poor kids…shame on you SWT…horrific.

I have been using South Western Railway since January for work training and now for my new job, travelling 4–5 times per week between Farnborough, Waterloo, and Basingstoke.

In that time, delays and cancellations have become a regular occurrence — genuinely every other day at times. The reasons given are often things like signalling/radio failures, engineering works, or incidents on the line. While I understand some incidents are outside your control, what is incredibly frustrating is the constant lack of reliable contingency planning and poor handling when problems happen.

As a major rail operator, passengers should not be left stranded repeatedly with little useful information, long waits, and no confidence that they’ll actually get where they need to be on time.

Engineering works should be planned to minimise disruption where possible, and when unexpected issues happen, there should be far better backup arrangements and communication.

I have been stranded multiple times because of South Western Railway’s poor management of disruptions. When you rely on trains to get to work, this isn’t just inconvenient — it causes real stress, lateness, and uncertainty.

For the cost of rail travel in the UK, this level of service is simply unacceptable.
I cant work due to the main railway company being this poor and should be taken over by a more reliable company.

1/5. (This should be a 0/5)

Because of a distribution in service my train left on the opposite platform from usual. Despite a number of staff they were unhelpful and even though it was possible to see many passengers run across the bridge, and despite actually touching the door buttons he just shouted for us to stand back. I understand the rules ( H&S / trains leaving on time), however with so many customers unaware of the disruption and the lack of service, they could have opened the doors to provide some kind of customer service. The staff clearly found this amusing. Very poor and no more than we are already used to.

I tried to claim for delays to and from my destination and the found it impossible to. The website took me round and round getting nowhere

Booking system has been "improved"!

Each time I went through the process it changed the date. This must be deliberate because they now have a way to edit the date, but when you select the date you want, the price has gone up and there is a £10 admin fee, which must be how they are paying for their bonuses.

Customer support are no longer able to provide any support, so they should change the name of that department.

Their suggestion was 'next time', take screenshots of each page.

My advice, which I will be taking, is go by coach.

SWR never fails to disappoint- over crowded , very expensive , poor service

-5stars. Had to catch a cruise. My embarkation time was 3 pm. So u bought a ticket to get me to the port at 2.15 pm. I got train from waterloo to clapham junction.train to southampton. I got to station early. Train was due 12.40.pm then we got announcement train broken down on line. Why couldnt they use another line. Then we got call saying train was 30 mins late.when we got on fast train. We were told we were stuck behind slow train so time was getting worse. I was panicking. We got to southampton at 3.05pm. So I was lucky I caught a taxi in time. We got to cruise port at 3.16pm cut off was 3.15. Any later I would have missed the cruise.next time I'll go by coach or pay extra & stay in hotel overnight.disgusting disgraceful company. I complained & get £19 back. If i missed the cruise it would've been a lot of money I would have lost. So thanks for nothing. On the way back it was a nightmare trying to find a seat.we are both elderly & disabled.

They clearly expect anyone needing the toilet to soil themselves. Disgusting treatment of anyone needing to go to the toilet and worse, clear disregard for anyone who may have a need based on disability. You should hold your heads in shame or at least sue the providers of your ‘shiny new ‘arterio’ trains. Disgusting service on your already overlain routes.

**and for any customer service responses that may follow: Do not bother as this is an actual experience, not one that an AI response will satisfy.**

Terrible to have to use this train lines.
Their website a total mess. Stations are not amended by anybody us some of thir train staff especially an old tall grumpy man who has 0 tolerance for people.
If you can take the bus, cycle, walk take a plane just avoid this service.

The app keeps logging me out and that delays finding the ticket in the app. It is slow, and difficult to load.

i spoke to the man but he told us this was the train to portsmouth and southsea but i ended up in winchester

Can't get tickets through the app because of some random errors, the ticket machine on the station doesn't work, staff on the train doesn't care and gives a fine instead of helping. Worst train system worldwide. I hate privatised transport companies, they're always so bad and overpriced

Abruptly cancelled trains, inadequate crisis provision, paying passengers forced to stand in the aisles and thus no access to toilets for everyone else because of the overcrowding, over 45 minutes late, people running up and down the platforms trying to find a space to stand in a scrappy vestibule on a train.
No seat reservations ever offered. The most basic service delivery fail, again and again. How are they allowed to carry on getting away with it.

17/05/2026 8.30pm
Complete and utter incompetence of the highest level, their crisis management is none existent!! Even there staff were agreeing with me this evening at Waterloo!!

What an absolute disgrace that SWR have upgraded their website/app and decided it was a fine idea to not keep customers pre booked tickets in the app.
I've lost all my QR Codes for bookings over the next 11 weeks.. how the hell did someone approve that into production?

Furthermore Google pay is now not an option in the app and you cannot add your trips to your calendar like before.

You have just made it worse than it was before.

Truly appalling operator. Yet again train cancelled and had to work out for myself how to get home. Went to Paddingtom from Waterloo, ended up in Taunton station not Axminster, after 10pm at night, single female travelling alone, luckily had someone who could collect me. SWT refusing refund as I managed to get home even though 2+ hours after I should have done.

There’s a problem so often with services, it feels like every time I travel. Since last year out of the blue cancellations during the day (no reasons, just lack of staff). More recently signal failure problems at Brokenhurst have meant serious delays for literally weeks. Weekend train timetables add literally 1.5 hours to a 2 hour! journey, as a matter of course - no reason given - just a common event. Why?! For example a Sunday day return trip to London will take 7 hours instead of the normal weekday 4! Completely ridiculous. Today Thursday 9 April there was another incident, though this time at Queen’s Park (albeit original problem not SWT fault) but again, more chaos, delays and very overcrowded trains in evening. Also, the app doesn’t even work properly at the moment - keeps saying technical difficulties!!!!. I can’t even buy a ticket. Literally, always something.