RAIL passengers will step into unchartered waters this week after FirstGroup and MTR took over the franchise for operating the South Western Railway.

Having weathered the shock in March when the Department of Transport decided to oust South West Trains operator Stagecoach after 20 years of providing a “stable service” on the Alton to Waterloo line, the Alton Line Users Association (ALUA) has voiced guarded optimism over the future of the service.

Of the new franchise holders, ALUA chairman David Jones said: “So far they have kept up us informed with what they’re going to be doing and they’re organising regular meetings with line users.

“I don’t think I’m pulling the wool over my eyes, but I feel quite comfortable with them at this particular stage and we’re looking forward to a new regime.”

However, the change of franchisee comes at a difficult time, with the biggest rail modernisation programme since the Victorian era taking place to upgrade the SW network and improve capacity at Waterloo Station; the ongoing battle over driver-only trains; and regulated rail fares facing the biggest rise for five years, with an expected increase of up to 3.6 per cent in January.

It could result in a rocky start for FirstGroup who will run the SW network for the next seven years in partnership with MTR, a Chinese company which runs the Hong Kong Metro service, which will hold a 30 per cent share.

To counter this, the operator has outlined plans to invest more than £1.2 billion between now and 2024 on new and refurbished trains, station improvements, the simplification of tickets and more, “all of which will make journeys better for customers.”

This includes faster journey times on services from Alton into London, later direct services to Alton and a new half-hourly Guildford to Farnham service.

However, there has been speculation that to help achieve these improvements, the SW network could soon see the introduction of a driver-only operation, so fiercely contested by unions Aslef and RMT in a dispute on Southern Rail.

Franchise boss Andy Mellors refused to commit to protecting the role of train guards in an interview with the BBC last week, prompting fears that the SW network could see a repeat of the industrial action that has recently blighted Southern Rail.

While confirming that ALUA would not be in favour of a one-man operation, David Jones said: “The last thing we want is any problems like they’ve had on Southern. That would be quite horrendous given the numbers of people that use this line.”

He further pointed out that, as the home of Treloar School and College, the Alton line takes a lot of disabled passengers in wheelchairs who need assistance getting onto and off the train. And while there may be help from outside, stations like Bentley do not have platform staff.

He added: “Also, the security of the passenger goes out of the window, especially late at night. How does the driver know what’s going on in the fourth carriage, and yes they’ve got CCTV but will it capture everything?

“We (ALUA) feel that the mere presence of a guard acts as a deterrent and that, especially when travelling late at night, people feel a little more confident if there’s a guard on the train.”