A NEW managing director has joined South Western Railway (SWR), with plans to transform services for passengers in 2020 after a year of delays, strikes and yet more rail fare hikes.

With more than 30 years’ experience of managing rail businesses and delivering improvements for passengers, Mark Hopwood has said his plans can make a noticeable difference for passengers on South Western Railway.

He said: “It’s my mission to drive through change and make a positive impact for South Western Railway passengers. Frankly, our service has not been good enough in recent months and years.”

Mr Hopwood added he is “determined to find a resolution” to the recent strikes and will focus on changes that can make an “immediate difference to the number of trains running on time”.

SWR has also brought together performance, operations and customer experience functions under chief operating officer Mike Houghton, who will help the train operating company focus on running more trains on time.

Mr Hopwood has made five key commitments to passengers, including increasing the number of trains running on time and addressing problems such as trains running with fewer carriages and missing stops to make up time.

Other commitments include new and refurbished trains, being open and honest with passengers, empowering and enabling staff to provide help and advice to passengers, and being approachable and accountable.

It comes just days after rail passengers were faced with an average 2.7 per cent fare hike on January 2, following “prolonged industrial action, falling punctuality and the failure of SWR to deliver several of its stated franchise commitments”, according to Jeremy Varns, campaigns coordinator at South Western Railway Watch.

He continued: “Many rail users will feel that they are paying more but getting less. Frustrations also continue to grow over the lack of intervention by the government as the train operator struggles to get the basics right, over two years into its seven-year contract.

“Tellingly, the most recent National Rail Passenger Survey rates SWR lowest in the industry for value for money, and second from bottom of all operators for punctuality and reliability.”