LATE services and crammed carriages were the cause of nearly half the complaints made about South West Trains (SWT) over the last year.

Figures from the Office of Rail and Road showed these issues topped the 2015/16 list of passenger complaints to the franchise, which has operated railway services between Haslemere, Liphook and Waterloo since 2007.

It was originally intended the company would continue to operate these services until 2019, when it expires in February 2017, but last July the Department for Transport announced it intended to re-let the franchise through a competition.

The number of complaints concerning punctuality had fallen by 13 per cent on the previous year to 41 per cent but complaints about space in carriages rose to 7.5 per cent. There was almost no change in the total number of complaints to SWT.

Responding to the number of complaints received over the last year, a SWT spokesman said: “We operate one of the busiest railways in Europe and provide half a million journeys every day, bringing over 100,000 passengers into Waterloo every morning with a train arriving or leaving the station nearly every minute.

“The most recent National Rail Passenger Survey shows 81 per cent of passengers are satisfied with SWT services, this is higher than neighbouring lines serving London and the South East. The average performance and punctuality of our services is also higher.

“However, we know some of our trains, particularly those during the busiest times of the day, are still extremely busy. We are investing and working hard to provide more space for more passengers and recently completed the £65million introduction of 108 additional and refurbished carriages, providing longer trains for many of our busiest services.

“We are now working with Network Rail and the Department for Transport to invest a further £800million to make further improvements and by 2019 we will be providing an extra 30 per cent space for our passengers during the busiest times of the day.”

These improvements include the ongoing overhaul of Haslemere station car park, to provide a new deck with an additional 100 spaces provided on top of the current 201 parking spots.

SWT confirmed this week the foundations are now in place for the car park’s new deck and steelworks are being installed, and the works are on track to complete on time this August.

County council cabinet member for environment and planning, Mike Goodman, also responded to the figures and reiterated calls to extend the Crossrail 2 project deeper into Surrey to release capacity on the overburdened South West main line.

He said: “Not only will the line relieve the morning crush and speed up journeys, it will provide a platform for economic growth in London, Surrey and way beyond.”