Dozens of new trains, dubbed “platform hoovers,” are due to be rolled out to help tackle “extreme overcrowding” on routes to London Waterloo after years of delays.
A £1 billion fleet of new trains was supposed to be rolled out from 2019 but just 14 of the 90 services are currently running in south west London.
South Western Railway has now told the Standard that it plans to introduce more of the trains in the coming weeks.
SWR had promised the new Arterio trains would “transform every journey on our suburban network”, with “more capacity, quicker journey times and better reliability and punctuality for our customers”.
The news comes after Labour MP Fleur Anderson raised concerns about platforms at Putney and Wandsworth Town stations becoming so packed that people are unable to board trains.
The Putney MP told the Standard: “I have raised [the problem of] extreme overcrowding on the stations.
“As the Waterloo line gets in closer to London it’s more full. By the time it gets to Putney, it is quite overcrowded but Wandsworth Town is really bad. Lots of people just can’t get on the train.
“These new trains, which are great, have been announced several times. They’re coming.
“The layout inside the carriage means they fit a lot more people on. They've been described as ‘platform hoovers’ - which everyone in Wandsworth Town will love to hear about.
“The rollout has been really, really slow... But, I’ve met with the Chief Executive and he is now going to consistently roll out more every week. It is really, really late but it is finally good to have them coming.”
The MP highlighted that since SWR became the first rail operator to be renationalised by the Labour Government there had already been some “significant changes”.
The first Arterio train carried passengers between Waterloo and Windsor in January 2024, around five years later than when SWR had planned to introduce the trains.
An industry expert previously told the Standard the rollout of the Arterio trains had been plagued by delays as drivers were needed to run day-to-day services and could not get time off to attend training programmes.
Many of the new 10-carriage, air-conditioned, walk-through trains remain parked up in depots, including at Clapham Junction, due to the delays in training drivers.
SWR is currently looking to hire a new Arterio Programme Director and has described the rollout of the new trains as “one of the UK’s most ambitious rail transformation programmes”.
Last November, SWR announced that the trains would start running to Epsom, Guildford and Dorking in March, to Chessington South in May and to Reading in June.
The trains, which were built by Alstom in Derby, have been designed to carry more than 50% more passengers than the eight-car Class 455 trains they will replace.
They also feature wi-fi, charging points at every seat, real-time information and accessible toilets.
On Monday, SWR was forced to issue a rare “do not travel” warning to passengers as trains were unable to use 14 platforms at London Waterloo due to a major signal failure.
A spokesperson for SWR said: “We've introduced eight more trains in the past two months and, as of today, we are running 14 Arterios on more than 160 services every weekday, on routes to Dorking, Guildford, Hampton Court, Kingston, Reading, Shepperton, Twickenham and Windsor & Eton Riverside.
“We’re looking forward to many more customers enjoying the increased capacity and comfort the Arterios bring to journeys as we introduce more trains into service over the coming weeks.”
