Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Train Frequency: Sutton and Cheam

Thursday 26 June 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions focused on train frequency issues at Worcester Park station
  • South Western Railway is under Government control and aims to improve railway services
  • Two new high-capacity Arterio trains are now in operation to address overcrowding issues

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Taylor Lib Dem Sutton and Cheam
Transport
Context

A constituent wrote to the MP expressing concerns about overcrowded trains during peak hours at Worcester Park station, which is causing significant stress and discomfort. The South Western Railway has been placed under Government control.

Question

Earlier this week I was contacted by a long-suffering commuter using Worcester Park station. She wrote: 'As a teacher my days are already demanding... What should be a straightforward journey has become an exhausting and frustrating part of my day.' Now that South Western Railway is under Government control, will the Minister tell my constituents when we can expect to see the service and timetable finally improve for Worcester Park station?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)

Services returning to public ownership is a watershed moment for our railways and the beginning of our efforts to build Great British Railways, a new publicly owned organisation that runs our trains. We want passengers to see improvements to their services now and, starting with SWR, each operator will have to meet rigorous bespoke performance standards on things such as punctuality, cancellations and passenger experience, so that we can begin to build a world-class public service.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not provide a specific timeline for improvements at Worcester Park station or mention any funding plans.

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Q2 Paul Kohler Lib Dem Wimbledon
Transport
Context

South Western Railway acquired 90 high-capacity Arterio trains in 2019 to address overcrowding issues, but only a handful have entered service. The UK taxpayer is currently spending over £5 million every month on leasing the Arterio fleet, and over £0.5 million additionally every month to store unused trains.

Question

Worcester Park is a station that my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor) and I know well as it is on the boundary of both our constituencies, and I confirm that my constituents face the same issues of overcrowding. SWR acquired 90 high-capacity Arterio trains to address this issue back in 2019, yet six years later only a handful have entered service. The UK taxpayer is currently spending over £5 million every month on leasing the Arterio fleet, and over £0.5 million additionally every month to store the unused trains. Will the Minister confirm how many Arterio trains are now in use, whether the issues delaying roll-out have now been addressed, and whether he thinks that spending millions of pounds every month on unused trains is a good use of taxpayers’ money?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)

I am aware that another two of those trains are now in operation. The new managing director is aware that this is a challenge and we are already beginning to see progress.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not address the issue of whether spending millions on unused trains is justified, nor provided details on addressing roll-out issues.

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