written by ryCrabtree234 on 06/07/2021
Travelled from Clapham unction to Southampton, it was busy on the platform and the train had only 5 carriages on a major route. A disgrace during lock down, when we are told to self distance.
written by IreneSut on 01/11/2018
I travelled from Exeter to Woking a couple of days ago in a warm comfortable clean train which was on time and provided trolley refreshments. A good service.
written by Jacquelyn170 on 07/09/2017
For the last month now the quality of the service of trains in and out of Waterloo has been essentially hopeless. Day after day there are delays and cancellations. Problems at 07:00 seem to take out the entire day. Anyway yet again today I am trying to see what the service situation is and all I see on the "Live Departure Boards" are yet more delays and cancellations
written by morajoe on 04/09/2017
We arrived at Waterloo for a three day trip to Sherborne to find the service completely disrupted by at least three different malfunctions. Three consecutive trains were shown on the display boards only to have the 'cancelled' sign appear with no tannoy explanation nor any indication of when a train might run. After the third cancellation, we gave up and returned home. Around £70 wasted and a family visit ruined. I've recently travelled around France on clean, rapid, punctual trains. Our system leaves much to be desired. EDIT: This review would show zero stars but that's not allowed. Reluctantly an ill-deserved single star is shown.
written by ChelseaMiller on 13/03/2017
I purchased two return train tickets on Southwest rail in the U.K. for our teenage son that was travelling with a friend from Bounremouth to Southampton. The customer service agent refused to provide my son with tickets for the voucher because he did not have the credit card that I used (my own) to book the tickets with. My son was forced to use cash to purchase a new ticket....
written by on 21/02/2017
Nice trains. Fairly clean for public transport. Staff are very helpful. Wifi is great. Its a shame that people don't understand the point of a quiet zone is that should be quiet. I can't stress how annoying it is to sit in the quiet coach for a nice peaceful journey only for some idiot to come in shouting on their phone or a large bunch of people who are constantly talking.
written by Healyul9 on 08/01/2017
South west trains are a joke! A poor one at that. Trains from waterloo heading through Isleworth are hardly ever running at the weekends! But guess what today Sunday 9th Jan they are running bud laughably not stopping at Isleworth ! Why do you bother seriously! The service you offer or the lack of it is a disgrace !
written by Terrellt339 on 20/12/2016
every time I travel with South West Trains the train was late , unhelpful staff ,bad customer service. Will drive from now on. wouldn't recommended to anyone
written by Kaleighv495 on 11/12/2016
I had a very amusing journey home from Clapham Junction yesterday on the 14.59 to Woking. The guard gave us a Christmas quiz and was very entertaining. It was so nice all the commuters were joining in. Need more guards like this. Thank you to the quiz master!!
written by DominiqueLaw on 01/12/2016
Booked online for advanced travel no reference or email received,phoned customer services was told problem with website since upgrade refund in four days now probably seven!Can't buy tickets until I have money back over £80.Cleared my account in one day they can't return it for one week.
written by 112Armstrong on 17/11/2016
Service is very poor.Fed up being stranded by these incompetent idiots!!!!!
written by Ryanqh301 on 21/10/2016
Many years ago I decided to work in London, I thought I would save money on travel and be less stressed out about traffic because the theory is - get to the station for the set time, then you're relaxed, right? Wrong. Over these years the service has noticeably become more like a picture of third world scenes rather than the franchise that services a capital city. If you're considering travelling from Surrey to London, expect the following: - packed trains, anyone with space phobias stay well clear. I actually look around me and hope we don't treat animals this badly - cancellations with no or multiple reasons given - delays - these will be regular with no real reason given - traffic - that's right, picture yourself on an unethically packed train, hot, trying not to have a panic attack only for the train to sit in the middle of nowhere for ages (making your train even more delayed) because of "congestion" - delays - of a different sort, your train leaves Waterloo 1-3 mins late (so that's on time with SWT) and yet you arrive at your destination anywhere from 10-15 mins late: reasons unknown and never explained. - big costs and major hikes; the costs for the worst service I've ever received, is a ridiculously high cost I have travelled to many cities across the road and I have never experienced such terrible service. London/UK is a total joke and we all think its acceptable! To think that SWT (from my experience) is the better provider, when you throw south eastern and southern into the mix makes me pull my hair out! I don't think I have ever been so stressed out/angry/depressed than I am when I travel to and from work because of the constant service failure of SWT One must remember of course that not all problems are theirs, Network Rail don't help at all - its a recipe for disaster, one we have to taste daily and its totally unacceptable. Why do they get away with it - those of us that travel have no choice and that's it.
written by tsSims290 on 05/10/2016
Totally unreliable. In the last month I have been delayed a total of about 6 hours.
written by Briellei435 on 22/09/2016
I booked a ticket online and selected a ticket for 6.30am instead of 6.30pm (18.30, this cost me £21.20. I phoned customer service to ask if they could change the time of my ticket as I selected the incorrect time. The customer service assistant said that they can only give me a refund if I send them a letter enclosing the tickets. I did just as instructed on the same day. I had to rebook and pay for a ticket for a correct time. I waited 13 days and the money was not paid in my account, so I phoned the customer service to enquire about my refund. It took 15 minutes to get through to them. I was told that it takes 28 days to receive a refund. It is now 43 day and no refund. I have been on the phone now for 25 minutes and no pick up. The customer service is disgusting and I did not think much of the service as the train was very crowded and the next tine I took the train there was a delay for 45 minutes! Bring back National rail and get rid of privatisation.
written by on 26/08/2016
Another cynically manipulated journey yesterday morning from Andover to Waterloo with barely room to turn sideways. Useful precursor to the sweltering tube though and to be fair, someone has to ensure that they remain afloat. If it weren't for the incessant pain in my knee, made so much better for regularly having to stand all the way, I'd raise a hearty cheer for these devout, billionaire philanthropists. What a relief to know the South West train set has brought them so much pleasure! It says below: Hint: What would you have liked to know before you made your purchase? Answer: That they weren't worrying themselves sick over making ends meet, for heaven's sake.
written by CWNH on 16/08/2016
South West Trains is a disgrace. It is impossible to book a bicycle place online, though this would save everyone's time. You have to phone. This often means a ten minute wait for someone to bother answering. Then they usually can't speak proper English and you have to spell Wiltshire - yes, "Wiltshire" - because they've never heard of it. Finally they tell you the train is full - which turns out to be false when you get aboard. Absolutely rubbish. No wonder people prefer to drive.
written by Dickeyna271 on 28/07/2016
The assistants were amazing help for my family as he helped us get onto the correct train home from Brighton today and I'm very thankful for what u have helped us with
written by BrendenDonahue on 18/07/2016
Always seems to be delays or cancellations for a verity of different reasons
written by 375Mitchell on 30/05/2016
In simple words they are very bad no trains run on time they are always delayed or cancelled... i have been waiting for an hour for my train and they keep changeing the platform the train will be on...
written by on 03/05/2016
All train services by the very nature of what they do suffer occasional unforeseen overcrowding. South West Trains have a deliberate overcrowding policy, leaving it to the long-suffering guards to apologise day after day. It's not poor line management or even gross incompetence, but a purely cynical exercise for which South West Trains richly-rewarded directors are only too happy to encourage. Disgraceful.
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers