Twickenham's Liberal Democrat MP has publicly criticised South Western Railway (SWR) following another evening of cancellations and lengthy delays affecting commuters.

Munira Wilson took to social media on 14 October to express her frustration with the rail operator after the 7:33pm service to Windsor was cancelled due to staff shortages, leaving passengers facing hour-long waits between trains at Whitton.

The MP met with South Western Railway's new Managing Director, Lawrence Bowman, two months ago at Hampton Station, where she pushed for improvements to local services.

Wilson wrote on X (formerly Twitter), tagging SWR: "I and my constituents are totally fed up by the constant delays & cancellations.

"Yesterday's disruption may have been out of your control, but tonight the 1933 Windsor train was cancelled due to a shortage of train crew. A whole hour between Whitton trains. Sort it out!"

The MP's intervention comes amid growing anger from residents over the reliability of rail services in the Twickenham area.

Responding to Wilson's post, one constituent highlighted ongoing issues with accessibility at Teddington station, where lifts unveiled in May 2025 have been out of action for over three weeks.

"No one can give us an answer as to when they will be repaired," wrote the commenter, adding that this is not the first time the newly installed lifts have failed.

Munira Wilson took to social media to express her frustration with SWR last week (credit: @munirawilson/X).)

SWR Watch commented that service levels have declined since the franchise was brought under public control, citing a recent Freedom of Information request which they say revealed "no publicly accessible contract exists" and that "summer timetable cuts were justified on a lie."

The group also criticised the continuation of what they termed a "gravy train of rewards for directors" despite ongoing service problems.

Another commuter voiced frustration over persistent capacity issues, particularly on match days at Twickenham Stadium.

They reported having to let two trains pass during a South Africa fixture at the stadium two weeks ago due to overcrowding, while also being ineligible for delay repay compensation.

"This has been worse than ever recently," they wrote. "I'm also constantly astounded by the short trains when there's rugby on."

Wilson met with SWR's Managing Director in August to discuss service improvements, including increased frequency on the Shepperton line and reinstatement of the Hounslow Loop line.

Despite what she described back then as a constructive discussion, Tuesday's cancellation suggests the reliability issues she raised remain unresolved.

South Western Railway has been contacted for comment.

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