South Western Railway (SWR) celebrates one year into public ownership with 39 additional new trains in service since renationalisation.

SWR was the first train operating company to enter public control under the Public Ownership Act last May, kick starting the end of almost 30 years of fragmentation and waste under privatisation.

To celebrate the milestone, the Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy unveiled a GBR branded train – an Arterio operated by SWR at London Waterloo station on 22 May.

SWR said thanks to public control, the Government and the train company's leadership sped up the introduction of new Arterio trains and accelerated driver training after years of delay, significantly boosting capacity and comfort for passengers across the network.

As a result, the number of seats and space on board suburban services into London Waterloo has increased by 27%, with even greater increases on other routes, including Aldershot via Ascot (55%) Windsor (42%), Shepperton (32%), Dorking (30%) and Hampton Court (28%).

SWR is now on track to have 50 Arterios in service, which can carry double the number of passengers than the trains they are replacing, have faster acceleration and braking speeds, free wifi, charging points and improved air conditioning.

Lord Peter Hendy, Rail Minister, said: "One year on from the first train operations entering public ownership, passengers are seeing and feeling the difference.

"Modern trains, more seats and greater capacity are restoring confidence in the railway and showing what can be achieved when we put passengers first rather than profit.

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"The rapid roll‑out of the South Western Railway Arterio fleet is a clear example of how nationalisation is cutting red tape that held the railway back for decades.

"These trains are transforming journeys for hundreds of thousands of people every day.

"This milestone marks real progress towards a genuinely integrated railway under Great British Railways – a railway that's improving and supporting economic growth, jobs and homes."

The full fleet of 90 Arterio trains is expected to be in service by early 2027 and also has real-time passenger information and fully accessible toilets.

Other planned improvements on SWR services includes:

• A full overhaul of the Class 158 and 159 diesel fleet to improve reliability and upgrade the customer experience with at seat power, improved information systems, and new décor
• Advancing superfast wi-fi and satellite technology to improve connectivity across the whole network
• Completion of the £129m resignalling programme between Farncombe and Petersfield
• Renewal works at Queenstown Road to remove long-standing speed restrictions close to London Waterloo
• £120m signal replacement project in the Havant area
• Thermal imaging cameras on trains to detect track defects quicker and deployment of drones to real-time updates
• Consultation for a new SWR timetable
• Recruitment and training of 144 new drivers this year

Lawrence Bowman, Managing Director, SWR and Network Rail Wessex, said: "We're fast approaching the milestone of 50 Arterio diagrams in daily service, meaning most of our suburban customers are likely to catch an Arterio for their morning commute, with some of our key routes now exclusively served by the new trains.

"Completing the rollout is a key step in our plans to improve our railway, which include a programme of major infrastructure upgrades, recruiting more traincrew, recovering quicker and keeping customers better informed during significant disruption and consulting on a full timetable refresh later this year.

"Improving our railway will take time and we have a lot more to do but we are making steady progress towards building a more reliable and resilient railway for the future."

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