Hundreds more trains are turning up with fewer carriages than scheduled on the South Western Railway (SWR) line, the first to be re-nationalized by the Labour party, according to official figures. During the first year under state control, 6,191 SWR services operated with reduced carriage capacity, an increase of 23% compared to the 5,017 instances in the year prior to re-nationalization.
These reductions mean potentially thousands of passengers face less seating during peak travel times. The situation has drawn criticism from the Conservative party, with shadow transport secretary Richard Holden stating that Labour's "ideological obsessions" are leading to a worse service for passengers, with more people being "rammed onto smaller trains." He added that Labour's approach of increased state control "doesn't drive up performance - it drives up costs for taxpayers and leaves passengers paying more for less."
Sir Grant Shapps, a former Conservative transport secretary, commented that Labour's "obsession with re-nationalisation has always been driven by dogma, not what works for passengers." He questioned what re-nationalization was intended to achieve if passengers are "paying more and getting worse service."
Figures obtained through parliamentary questions show that the number of "short-formed services" on SWR was 677 in the month before re-nationalization. This number rose to 1,026 in the month of re-nationalization and stood at 848 the month following. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander admitted in June that SWR's performance "has not been up to scratch" and could not guarantee cheaper tickets amidst service complaints.
SWR, which connects London with several Home Counties in the south of England, was brought back under public ownership in May. Labour has pledged to re-nationalize all of Britain's private train companies into a new state-run entity called Great British Railways (GBR). This move aligns with a key demand from the party's trade union backers, who advocate for greater public ownership across transport, utilities, and housing.
GBR-liveried trains are now operating on the rail network, including on SWR. Several other train operators, including Greater Anglia, c2c, West Midlands Trains, Thameslink, Southern, West Midlands Railway, and Great Northern, have also been re-nationalized, with CrossCountry set to be the last in Autumn 2027.
A Department for Transport spokesperson acknowledged passenger frustration regarding trains operating with fewer carriages than planned. They stated that before public ownership, the number of short trains was increasing due to an aging fleet. The spokesperson added that public ownership has addressed this issue, facilitating the rollout of 53 new Arterio trains and resulting in a 26% year-on-year reduction in short trains. This contradicts the reported increase in short-formed services on SWR.