Southampton station promised £1.4million revamp in South West Trains takeover

FirstGroup along with Hong Kong based MTR, who run the Hong Kong metro, will run the south western franchise for the next seven years in a deal which will be worth £2.6bn to the government over the next seven years.

A £1.2bn investment package to bring faster trains and thousands of extra seats has been promised by the new operator who will rebrand the service South Western Trains.

Southampton Central station will be given a makeover with a new entrance canopy more shops and an improved waiting area on the south side.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Echo, Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP said the franchise “will bring a hub of growth to the Southampton economy and provide and efficient and effective train service for next seven years” for passengers.

He added: “We are certainly encouraging First MTR to provide a more efficient ticketing structure and to ensure that part-time ticketing is worked in within the ticketing structure to provide a more efficient service.

“Part of this is a major refurbishment of Southampton Central station, making it a destination fit for the community it serves.”

Currently South West Trains runs 1,700 trains a day serving 200 stations and employs 4,500 staff with more 100 million people travelling to and from Waterloo, the franchise’s busiest station, annually.

FirstGroup, as part of the deal, has committed to reducing journey times from London to Southampton to 71 minutes and is in “strong discussions” with a number of manufacturers about a potential order for new rolling stock.

Existing staff will be transferred to the new operator when the franchise changes hands on Thursday, August 20.

However, the RMT union was furious about Hong Kong firm MTR’s involvement.

PICTURED: Hong Kong metro

The Hong Kong firm will hold a 30 per cent stake in the new operating company.

“It will make a devilish profit at the taxpayers’ expense,” said Mike Cash, general secretary of the RMT.

Mr. Cash said: “Once again the Government have refused to consider the public sector option for a major rail franchise and instead it’s a foreign state operator.

“The nonsense is that with the Government triggering Article 50 this week they would be free to ignore EU rail directives that slam a block on public ownership.”

Other key delivery points of the franchise

• Journey will be up to eight minutes faster from Southampton to London
• Free Wi-Fi at all stations and on mainland trains
• 29 additional weekday and Saturday services between Portsmouth & Southsea and Southampton Central
• More Sunday services across all routes
• Live information on seating availability and crowding levels via a new mobile phone app
• 22,000 extra seats into London Waterloo on every morning peak and 30,000 extra seats each evening peak

FirstGroup chief executive Tim O’Toole said: “Passengers can look forward to new and better trains, more seats and services, quicker journey times, improved stations and more flexible fare options.”

FirstGroup managing director Steve Montgomery, added: “It’s going to be a really exciting franchise, we will provide more value to the customer through more valuable and advance fares and provide a good network integrated into the local transport community.

“There is a lot of positives through the current franchises and can guarantee that we will take the staff with us, we will work very closely with the trade unions and work with the trade unions and take to them through conversations through the unions.”

Stagecoach, the current operator of the franchise, said it was “disappointed” its bid for the franchise had failed.

The firm’s chief executive Martin Griffiths said: “We are proud to have operated the network under the South West Trains brand for more than 20 years and we are disappointed that we have been unsuccessful in our bid for the new franchise.

“Over the past two decades, we have delivered real improvements for our customers right across the network. That success has been built on fantastic people, detailed knowledge of the business and strong relationships with our stakeholders and railway partners. But we have never thought our job was finished.”

Stagecoach were the first company to operate a UK rail franchise after privatisation in 1996 when it won the south-western franchise under the South West Trains brand in February 1996 and has run it ever since.

First Rail operate two UK rail franchises – Great Western Railway and TransPennine Express, the Tramlink service on behalf of Transport for London and the Heathrow Connect service.

Councillor Simon Letts, pictured, leader of Southampton City Council said: “The improvements at Southampton are much needed, it is the busiest station the Solent area so the investment will create a more integrated transport hub.

“We hope that the franchise will deliver better services, the major improvement for me will be additional capacity and a more transparent fare system.

“Provide the cheapest fare is important for passengers, it should be automatically the case that at ticket machines they should be the capacity.”

PICTURED: Southampton Central Station

• Steve Brine, MP for Winchester said: “Congratulations to First Group for snatching this key franchise away from Stagecoach. I’ve met regularly with both bidders over the course of the last few years and been impressed with the ambition First, have shown for the service they can offer the public.”
• Sean Woodward, the leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “The announcement is fantastic news, however, they need to make sure that they provide premium services including free WiFi on trains to match the premium prices they charge.” 
• Roy Perry, leader of Hampshire County Council, said: “This is generally good news, particularly the promise of more smart ticketing to ensure it is easier to get the best value ticket and also the promise of more car parking spaces at rail stations - in a county like Hampshire most people do not live within walking distance of the 49 railway stations.”
• Royston Smith, Tory MP for Southampton Itchen, said: “We are hoping that the franchise which will allow extra capacity and provide a fast and efficient service to commuters.
• “Southampton station as a key part of the franchise promise, so we should expect a full redevelopment focused on the entirety of the station, not just retail outlets.”
• Denis Fryer, coordinator of the South Hampshire Rail Users Group said: “The investment will bring the railway system into the modern era providing a unique passenger experience for everyone across Hampshire. 

“The investment in Southampton Central railway station is needed, the station is slightly deprived with bits of canopy falling off the roof, it’s one of the biggest railway operators in the South, and so it needs this improvement.” 

• Lianna Etkind, Public Transport Campaigner for the Campaign for Better Transport, added: “In the future, the Government sees Network Rail and train operators working for a hand in glove at a local level. The new South Western franchise is an important test of how this will work in practice.

“Passengers will welcome extra ticketing investment, especially commitments to smart cards and new discounts for part-time workers, but will want to see better reliability and value for money, as well as long term, plans to improve the resilience of the network.”