CONTRIBUTION TO THE GOVERNMENT'S "BIG CONVERSATION" ON BEHALF OF THE SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAIL USERS' GROUP : MEMORANDUM ON THE SOUTH WEST TRAINS FRANCHISE (15 February 2004)

Introduction

In many areas, the Government's investment policies are beginning to achieve improvements for rail passengers, but the picture is patchy.

The strategic objectives of the new South West Trains franchise were (i) improved performance and (ii) increased capacity. This affects over 20% of people who commute to Central London over Network Rail tracks, and is therefore a significant issue.

The objectives seem unlikely to be achieved under Stagecoach, a company whose Chairman Brian Souter once told Scotland on Sunday that "Ethics are not irrelevant but some are incompatible with what we have to do because capitalism is based on greed".

This Memorandum comprises conclusions, based on documentary evidence and passengers' experiences, that:

The SRA has not demonstrated independence in its dealings with Stagecoach, and has modified its policies in ways which favour the company both in absolute terms and in comparison with its dealings with other operators. This favourable treatment has not achieved value for money for commuters or other taxpayers.

In the 19 months between Stagecoach being chosen as preferred bidder for the new SWT franchise and the announcement of the franchise award, the company continued to fail its passengers (events of the previous period are covered in the Group's previous Memorandum (Annex A), published by the Transport Sub-Committee in their report on franchising).

In 2002, SWT was awarded additional grant of £29 million, part of which was to operate a few extra evening trains. So many evening trains are now cancelled that services are completely unreliable - the problem has become acute since a spectacular collapse of services on 20/12/03. Snapshots of service failures from 6/12/03 to the present are appended (Annex B). Reasons for these failures are in many cases not advertised by the operator, but shortages of train crews and serviceable rolling stock are significant.

SWT's annual subsidy has increased from about £50 million to £170 million. The major reason was stated to be the cost of hiring new coaches. 785 Desiro carriages were promised in addition to 120 Juniper coaches already coming into service. It is now reported that SWT will not accept 120 of the Desiro coaches, and is to return all the Juniper coaches to the owner. Passengers will therefore get 665 Desiro coaches instead of 785 Desiro coaches and 120 Juniper coaches (a reduction of about 26% in Stagecoach's commitment to new trains). Presumably the saving in hire charges will be a covert subsidy at taxpayers' expense, whilst the fleet reduction will inevitably subvert the objective of increased capacity?

Seating in existing suburban stock is reportedly to be reduced, despite a substantial increase in the price of season tickets, and huge public outcry when Connex, now expelled from both their franchises, announced a similar intention.

The new Desiro trains are reportedly 50% as reliable as the slam-door stock which they replace. Performance failures and rolling stock and train crew shortages occur across the board on SWT, with spiralling cancellations, shortened trains, and short working or omission of scheduled stops to compensate for delay.

Against this background of failure to give passengers and other taxpayers value for money, Stagecoach shares have increased in value from 10p to around 90p, since the new franchise award was announced, so it is clear who benefits from the award.

Overall, it is difficult to see how passengers and other taxpayers are getting a fair deal. Stagecoach's 8-year history of failure on SWT, and the worsening experiences of passengers, present the risk of a crisis in the near to medium future, related to poor reliability, hopelessly inadequate capacity and passenger dissatisfaction.

It was Stephen Byers who said, "To be blunt, the involvement of the private sector is a means to an end - helping government deliver better public services more effectively". He wanted short-term measures like recruiting more drivers, having spare trains for emergency use, enhancing maintenance cover and having better arrangements for dealing with disruption ('Rail' No. 425). These are all areas where Stagecoach has a poor record. Commuters share the frustration of politicians, including Ministers, at Stagecoach's consistent failure. Transfer of SWT to an operator with higher ethical values appears to provide the best hope of stabilising the service through more competent and customer-focused operation.

The railways get a supremo

The appointment, in 2001, of Richard Bowker as Chairman and Chief Executive of the Strategic Rail Authority appeared to herald a new era in which the Government's pro-rail, pro-passenger policies might at last be vigorously promoted.

However, informed bystanders may have noted that:
- Mr Bowker was formerly a senior executive of Virgin Trains;
- Stagecoach, operator of South West Trains, has a 49% interest in that company;
- Mr Bowker's father is a senior Stagecoach Executive;
- Head of Stagecoach Rail, Brian Eccles, refers to the time 'When Richard Bowker and I worked together' (Rail Professional, November 2002);
- Soon after becoming Chairman of the SRA, Richard Bowker attended Stagecoach Chairman Brian Souter's church - a round journey of about 1,000 miles from the SRA's base;
- One Stagecoach co-founder is on record as having stated "Ethics are not irrelevant but some are incompatible with what we have to do because capitalism is based on greed". The other is reportedly now the richest woman in Scotland, with assets worth around half a billion pounds;
- The High Court decided in 1996 that it would not be in the public interest to ban the World in Action's programme 'Cowboy Country' about Stagecoach's business practices;
- The Monopolies and Mergers Commission found Stagecoach's treatment of the Darlington Bus Company 'predatory, deplorable and against the public interest';
- The Advertising standards Authority found against South West Trains on two counts of using leaflets to misrepresent the scale of their commitments under a new franchise. SWT's defence was that the leaflets were 'public relations material' and should not be covered by advertising codes of practice;
- Christian Wolmar, author of Stagecoach, attributes to Stagecoach "an arrogance and deep conviction that the company is right and everyone else is wrong"; and
- South West Trains has a reputation among regular passengers for misleading statements. As a commuter withdrawing from appalling travel between Portsmouth and Waterloo lamented, "I'll have to kindly decline another chance to 'meet the managers' offered by SWT - a university thesis in textual analysis surely awaits those encounters". (Evening Standard 10/7/01)

The SRA as Stagecoach Rescue Authority

This scenario implicitly raises a question of whether, in its dealings with Stagecoach, the SRA has been able to demonstrate the independence of mind which authoritative strategy requires. Failure to do so could further threaten the confidence of thousands of SWT commuters on Britain's largest rail franchise. The Transport Committee is already on record as saying that "The SRA failed to provide the industry with the leadership that was expected of it." (Metro 1/2/02)

In fact, there is significant evidence that the SRA has generally chosen to follow a Stagecoach agenda. Stagecoach has benefited enormously while passengers continue to receive a hugely unsatisfactory service and, along with other taxpayers, are paying an increasingly high price for it.

Franchise awarded to Stagecoach despite ongoing failure

Some 18 months elapsed between the announcement in April 2001 that Stagecoach was the preferred bidder for the SWT franchise and confirmation in November 2002 that the franchise had been awarded, though for 3 years rather than 20 as originally expected. The award can arguably be seen as a betrayal of passengers' interests:

On 16 December 2001 the Evening Standard reported that, in the preceding 12 months, SWT had been fined £16m for poor performance, the highest of any train operator.

The year 2002 began with a series of devastating strikes on SWT. These were partly motivated by the scale of the disparity in pay awards to drivers and guards, and partly by the demotion of train driver Greg Tucker for a marginal infringement of speed limits. The SRA absolved SWT managers of responsibility for the strikes and waived penalties for not providing the services for which commuters and other taxpayers were paying huge amounts. However, an employment tribunal found that Mr Tucker had been wrongfully demoted after being singled out for union activities. It dismissed much of SWT's evidence as "incredible", "risible" and "implausible, even absurd". One key witness appeared to give evidence "without regard for truth and solely with an eye to where the advantage lay". A separate tribunal found that SWT unfairly sacked another worker after accusing him of intimidation during the strike.

On 26 March 2002, London commuters waiting at Brockenhurst station were dismayed when their train disappeared from the departures screen. It then ran past non-stop, making them even later for work. This, despite a recent Chamber of Commerce report which had found that an average firm loses £21,000 a year because its employees are delayed on the railways, and despite the fact that John Denham, MP for Southampton Itchen, had expressed amazement at this practice (Southern Daily Echo 31/3/99). A person who identified himself as a member of SWT told a furious commuter that it was SWT's new operational policy; trains would not make stops when they were running late. Omitting stops and turning trains short of destination then became endemic on SWT, despite a call by Rail Passengers' Committee Chairman Wendy Toms for SWT to work to make sure that trains are not cancelled and do not to stop short of their destination" (Southern Daily Echo 29/12/01). Ms Tom's contract was not renewed when it expired in 2003.

Hansard of 21 May 2002 reports Transport Secretary Stephen Byers as saying, "I agree that the South West Trains franchise is not being operated as well as anybody would like. I want the Strategic Rail Authority to use the franchise renewal as an opportunity to secure real improvements for the travelling public. The Strategic Rail Authority must use the time over the next few months to negotiate an agreement with South West Trains - with Stagecoach Group PLC. If the SRA cannot negotiate a franchise renewal that puts the interests of the travelling public first, it will be prepared to seek a new franchise operator which will put the interests of the travelling public first, drive up standards and improve reliability… This is an opportunity to bring about real improvements for passengers who travel on South West Trains. We want the Strategic Rail Authority to deliver real improvements to the travelling public and it will."

During 2002, the SRA awarded Stagecoach an additional payment of £29m, partly in return for introducing a few extra evening trains. One of these was a little-needed 19.43 Poole-Waterloo. This service was formed of the Southampton-Poole portion of the busy 17.15 commuter service from Waterloo, which reaches Poole at 19.37. The six-minute turnround meant that SWT needed to cancel the Southampton-Poole service when the 17.15 ran late. On a number of occasions, therefore, scores of angry commuters for intermediate stations to Poole were dumped at Southampton. The Rail Passengers Committee condemned this practice at their public meeting at Gatwick Airport in July 2002. The SRA was effectively giving an ethically-limited company a financial incentive to throw commuters off their train.

At the Autumn 2002 meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee public meeting in Folkestone, a member of the Committee confirmed that SWT's performance was "unambiguously the worst".

On 7 November 2002, the Guardian reported that "Stagecoach, the widely criticised operator of poorly performing South West Trains, was told it was likely to get a new franchise running to 2007, well short of an earlier proposal for a 20-year deal. Richard Bowker, the SRA's chairman, said the existing franchise system, designed on privatisation during 1996, allowed operators to grow in an "uncontrolled, haphazard way" in search of higher profits. "There has been a lack of clarity over what is required of franchisees," he said. "We have been saying 'here's a minimum level of service, now go for it'. Instead, we will be saying "this is exactly what we want you to do."

The Metro of the same day reported that Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, had told the Today programme that companies which met their requirements would be rewarded. "If they don't, they will be penalised and, if necessary, put off their franchise."

Stagecoach benefits from SRA policy changes

The SRA had planned to introduce a new Wessex franchise which would embrace the English portion of the Wales and West franchise plus SWT's Waterloo-Exeter and Reading-Brighton lines. This made sense because diesel rolling stock on these routes is compatible with Wales and West's stock, but not with the electric trains on the remainder of SWT. The combined diesel fleet could have given a more robust service and offered economies of maintenance, and there would have been the opportunity to develop more through working, avoiding changes of train for longer-distance passengers.

Graham Eccles, head of Stagecoach's rail division, made clear at a meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England that Stagecoach was robustly opposed to the plan.

One of Richard Bowker's earliest ideas at the SRA (Metro 20/12/01) was that performance could be improved if each London terminus had only one operator. This was on the basis that operators were not sharing platforms, and that this caused unnecessary delays to incoming trains. It is unclear where this was happening; the real operating constraint at the London terminals is that some platforms are too short to accommodate the longest trains, which may indeed have to await a suitable platform whilst other, shorter platforms are empty. Perhaps significantly, the SRA failed to explain why 'one operator' termini were necessary in London, but not for example in Glasgow, Liverpool or Manchester. Even more oddly, there seems no perceived problem with Victoria having three operators, and comparatively tiny Charing Cross two.

The policy change implied that the Waterloo-Exeter route would remain with South West Trains to avoid having two operators at Waterloo, and that Stagecoach would get is way and retain its diesel routes (and, of course, the substantial subsidy which they attract). The SRA announced that it would review the position. Stagecoach then produced a glossy magazine, 'Moving forward with South West Trains', which welcomed the review. It poured cold water on the idea of combining the SWT and Wessex diesel fleets, and made clear that SWT would like to take over the Cardiff-Bristol-Salisbury-Waterloo services.

The SRA decided that the Waterloo-Exeter route should stay with SWT, and the expanded Wessex franchise was effectively still-born. The diminutive English sector of Wales and West lingers on with very limited resources, as Wessex Trains, pending its absorption into the prospective Greater Western franchise. Severe overcrowding is endemic, particularly in the Southampton and Bristol areas, and there is now no likelihood of improvement until re-franchising can be finalised.

In 2003, the SRA announced that the Cardiff-Bristol-Salisbury-Waterloo trains would not be part of the Wales and Borders franchise, and would be withdrawn. The spare units would have afforded the opportunity to realise one of the key objectives in the SRA's own 'Strategic Plan': a half-hourly Portsmouth-Salisbury-Bristol service, every day, by 2005-06 (Strategic Plan, page 105). This would bring much-needed relief for the many passengers who currently have to stand for significant distances. However, at the November 2003 meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England, it was announced that the SRA was considering the idea of extending SWT Waterloo-Salisbury trains to Bristol. So, unless the improved Portsmouth-Bristol service is in fact introduced in 2005-06, it would appear that the SRA is prepared to scupper its own strategy and, coincidentally, meet the wishes of Stagecoach (and, presumably, transfer subsidy to them).

Since SWT's diesel stock often has difficulty in covering all its existing schedules (especially on the Reading-Brighton route, where services are frequently axed between Reading and Basingstoke), it will be interesting to see whether Stagecoach will obtain some new trains for Waterloo-Bristol, or discover that partial realisation of the combined fleet which the company previously scorned will suddenly become a good thing.

Opaque franchising: SRA appears vigorously pro-Stagecoach and anti-First

A Rail Passengers Council booklet of May 2000 argued that:
'There needs to be much greater dialogue surrounding the franchising process. This is necessary not just to ascertain whether there is public support for particular bids but also to ensure that dialogue and consultation are used to improve the quality and effectiveness of services.'

This appeared perfectly in accord with the Deputy Prime Minister's expressed view that the interests of passengers should be paramount. Many commuters were dismayed in April 2001 when Stagecoach was chosen as preferred bidder for the then-proposed 20 year SWT franchise, given the company's appalling performance record, much of it due to maximising profits by shedding staff.. Far from the franchise system becoming less opaque, the May meeting of Hampshire County Council's Rail Forum - at which local train operators answer questions from councillors and members of the public - was cancelled, interested parties being informed that this was due to continuing negotiations between preferred bidders and the SRA. Fortuitously, the County Rail Officer subsequently became manager of SWT's West of England line.

As our Memorandum to the Transport Committee argued, rival bidders GNER and First both appeared to have much better claims to the SWT franchise than Stagecoach:

First had managed a major commuter service from Liverpool Street with a considerable degree of success and passenger satisfaction. It can therefore be seen as a particularly serious rival to Stagecoach. The longer-distance operator from Liverpool Street, Anglia, is also highly regarded by passengers..

Choice of Stagecoach for the new SWT franchise remains shrouded in mystery. The only reason ever given was that the SRA liked its straightforward approach to the bidding process. This appeared as an unattributed remark in the Guardian, but was also relayed at a public meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee by the Committee's former Chairman, Wendy Toms. Clearly, as Stagecoach's Graham Eccles subsequently made clear in Rail Professional, the company had been anything but straightforward with the public, confusing them to Stagecoach's advantage by shouting loudly about a long list of indistinguishable commitments and aspirations. This was perfectly in line with SWT's defence (effectively, the right to use misleading PR) to the Advertising Standards Authority, as above.

Subsequently, there was considerable surprise that First was not short-listed for the new Greater Anglia franchise, which will absorb its Liverpool Street operations. First then took over Anglia, which had been shortlisted, and so created a 'dream team'. However, the SRA chose National Express, a decision which, according to press reports, was even to that company's surprise - especially since its Chief Executive had recently said the company wanted to 'reduce its exposure to the rail industry' (Evening Standard 22/12/03). The SRA's website states that one of the benefits of the new franchise will be 'better information and cleanliness' (information and cleanliness are things for which Anglia and First Great Eastern are already noted).

It is recently reported (Rail No 479) that First's bid for the Scotrail franchise is being hampered by its referral to the Competition Commission because it runs many bus routes in Scotland. Stagecoach's substantial network of bus routes in Hampshire has never been raised as a bar to its operation of SWT.

The difference between Stagecoach and First, from the passenger's perspective, is nowhere more stark than in Southampton. Stagecoach first became solvent by buying Hampshire Bus and selling Southampton's bus station and less-profitable southern bus routes for more than it had paid for the whole operation (Source: 'Stagecoach' by Christian Wolmar). This left Southampton as one of the largest cities without a bus station. First has transformed the City's local bus services with new vehicles, revised routes, and a substantial system of Uni-Link buses to serve the huge student population.

The unfathomable disparity between the generous treatment of Stagecoach and apparently harsh treatment of First - one of its larger and potentially most dangerous rivals - will remain a cause for public speculation so long as the franchising process remains opaque.

Peculiarities since the announcement in November 2002 of the new SWT franchise agreement: Subsidy increased by about 250% / Value of Stagecoach shares increased by about 800% / New trains cut by 26% and service delivery falls apart

Richard Bowker has stated that the SWT franchise agreement would mean the company focusing "on what matters to passengers - recovering performance to a level that passengers deserve and expect and the replacement of slam-door trains with the biggest new train order in the UK". This was in line with an earlier statement by Transport Minister David Jamieson that "reducing overcrowding is a key target of our 10-year plan, particularly for commuter routes". So having been stripped of all the aspirations for new stations and services which Stagecoach initially trumpeted in their bid, the new franchise was simply to focus on increased capacity and greater reliability.

However, the announcement of the new 3-year franchise agreement in November 2002 came just after Stagecoach shares collapsed to as low as 10p because of the company's failed USA bus operations. This suggested that investment in SWT,other than by taxpayers, would be negligible, which should have raised real doubts about the wisdom of re-franchising to Stagecoach.

The Times of 24 October 2002 had reported that "The chances are that Stagecoach will survive in some shape or form. But the debt burden is likely to drag on the company's fortunes and eclipse the opportunities to generate shareholder returns. The risk that the company will pass on its dividend is already high. Bonds trade at about 25 per cent below par, but they look no more a bargain than the shares. Avoid both."

The Guardian of the same date had reported that "The shares have fallen more than 80% in six months and credit rating agency Moody's recently downgraded the company to junk status."

Under the new franchise contract, SWT's subsidy was to increase from about £50 million a year to £170 million. This was justified on the basis of the additional costs of hiring 785 new coaches. The franchise operation most like SWT will be Greater Anglia, covering the massive commuter service from Liverpool Street. The Evening Standard of 30/1/04 reported that this is expected to make so much profit under National Express that the Treasury will expect to receive £500m by 2011, which will help to bail out loss-makers, including Virgin West Coast and Virgin Cross Country [and presumably SWT]. The big question is why Stagecoach is taking such large sums from taxpayers for running SWT, when National Express will hand the Treasury large sums for running the very comparable Greater Anglia operation. After all, National Express will be hiring modern rolling stock for Greater Anglia, just as Stagecoach will be for SWT.

Although, as above, the SWT franchise is supposed to be about delivering capacity and reliability, 15 months after the announcement of the new franchise award, there is no indication that commuters will get either, despite the fact that taxpayers are having to spend more than the value of the promised 785 new Desiro coaches (£640m) on upgrading the infrastructure to run them.

At Hampshire County Council's Rail Forum on 25/9/01, councillors and members of the public were told that the new Desiro trains would increase fleet seats by 11% (recorded in the minutes). However, the Southern Daily Echo of 29/10/01 reported that in terms of seating Stagecoach is replacing like with like. A challenge about this discrepancy at the Rail Passengers Committee meeting on 30/10/01, drew a letter from SWT Managing Director Andrew Haines which stated that "The Siemens Desiro order will provide for a significant increase in capacity but that is in the inner suburban area" (so no benefit to Hampshire).

At the present time, it is reported that:

SWT will not take on 120 of the promised Desiro carriages, and will dispose of 120 new Juniper carriages. So commuters will get 665 Desiro carriages instead of 905 Desiro and Juniper carriages - a decrease of about 26%, despite Stagecoach being paid a huge subsidy to increase capacity. Will taxpayers get their money back through a reduction in subsidy to SWT or will alternative stock be hired?

SWT's suburban fleet is to be refurbished to reduce seating and increase standing room, bringing more misery for commuters. SWT argue that this is because passengers don't like 2+3 aside seating - the kind of layout in much of their new Desiro outer-suburban trains. Interestingly, when Connex proposed to reduce seating on their trains there was a huge public outcry (Guardian 18/7/01).

Whilst SWT's suburban passengers will be made to stand, their longer-distance passengers will be crammed into main line (class 444) Desiro units. The Railway Gazette International reports that "Although the 444s are destined to operate on journeys of up to 3 hours, the vehicle ambience is more commuter than intercity. SWT -- specified the maximum possible number of seats in each unit". Stagecoach originally promised a high-specification for new trains on the Waterloo-Weymouth main line, but the 444s are not considered suitable for this long-distance run and the 1988 Wessex Electric units will remain - these are good units but very poorly maintained with abominable suspension and even the hazard warning tape on the corridor connections becoming worn.

This scenario is all the more remarkable because SWT originally trumpeted that there were options to increase the £640m order for the New Desiros to £1 billion. Despite the Advertising Standards Authority's condemnation of SWT for misrepresenting the scale of their franchise commitment, a letter dated 8/1/04 from SWT to a Staines commuter states "Our £1 billion investment in the new Desiro carriages is the single largest investment in rolling stock in the UK." Presumably this is a standard line, although misleading.

To exacerbate matters, it is now reported that the Desiro units are only half as reliable as the old trains which they are replacing. (It will be recalled that Stagecoach got a cheap deal from Siemens at a time when the latter was facing loss of 5,500 jobs -Evening Standard 26/4/01 and 10/5/01). This contrasts awkwardly with the comments by SWT Managing Director, Andrew Haines, in the Southern Daily Echo of 29/10/01: "The three big benefits of these new trains will be safety, reliability and passenger comfort… We have specified a level of reliability that is ten times greater than current trains".

Turning to service delivery, it is clear that SWT simply does not employ enough drivers. Withdrawal of Ascot-Guildford services to release drivers for training on the new Desiro units has been much publicised, and letting down customers in this way has been criticised by the Rail Passengers Committee. Commuters are furious that they will get a measly 10% refund on a daily basis for the substantial inconvenience which they face. (Connex and SWT have been officially branded the worst rail operators for refunds - Evening Standard 2/8/01).

Why should there be a driver shortage when:
- the number of new carriages SWT will be running has been reduced by 26%;
- services on the lines from Waterloo to Portsmouth, Reading and Southampton have been cut, and services to West Croydon withdrawn; and
- the Lymington branch has been closed for 6 weeks for infrastructure work?

In fact, Ascot-Guildford services are the tip of the iceberg. Snapshots of SWT's performance (Annex B) show significant numbers of cancellations, some ascribed to crew shortages. These cuts are less obvious than those which caused an outcry in 1997 (Annex A), because the affected trains vary day by day. However, this means that it is impossible to rely on any SWT service actually operating.

It is instructive to look at SWT's website which often shows trains cancelled "due to the crew being delayed" as much as 3 hours before they are due to depart.

This scenario also raises the question of whether the September 2003 cuts were necessary - were they just a means of helping to underpin Stagecoach's teetering finances? In conjunction with the many cancellations of surviving services which passengers suffer, often due to train crew shortages, there are sometimes two-hour gaps in services which previously ran half-hourly. Against the dwindling returns for taxpayers, Stagecoach's fortunes are fast improving:

Shares which dropped to 10p in the Autumn of 2002 rose above 90p in January 2004.

The Stagecoach Chairman reportedly awarded himself a 72% pay increase, taking home £800,000 for 2002-03, a year when the group made a £466m loss and its turnover fell.

In September 2003 it was reported that Stagecoach had survived a vote over its award of a £322,000 bonus to Mr Souter.

In December 2003 the Southern Daily Echo reported that SWT passengers had helped boost the annual profits of Stagecoach to just under £77m.

Remarkably, the SRA Chairman admitted to the House of Commons Transport Committee that the announcement of an additional £106m grant to Virgin trains had been to stabilise Virgin and Stagecoach (which has a 49% interest in Virgin Rail). So it seems fair to ask whether SWT is receiving hugely-inflated sums of public money in the interests of passengers, or in the interests of the parent company Stagecoach.

The public meeting of the Rail Passengers Council in Westminster in December 2003 was illustrative of an apparent gulf between the Government and SRA:

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling made a very moderate and balanced speech, urging the rail industry to "treat passengers as valued customers".

After Mr Darling's departure to attend another engagement, Richard Bowker said the railways had to become ruthless when it came to performance. 'Rail' No. 477 reports "This ruthless attitude sees the SRA supporting the industry concept of service recovery, with late-running trains turned back short of their destination to bring them back on time".

As above, the SRA's line is very much attuned to Stagecoach policy: trying to throw passengers off their trains for operational convenience has led to the much-publicised 'siege of Basingstoke', and to commuter sit-ins at places like Southampton and Farnham. 'Rail' columnist Barry Doe considers that "The SRA's biggest problem remains arrogance. It welcomes you with open arms provided you agree 100% with what it plans and never ever deviate from that support. If you do, you are treated as an 'enemy of the state'!" ('Rail' No 474). On SWT, commuters may have to fight for the service for which they have paid thousands of pounds a year. In what other area of public service would providers get away with pushing their customers to one side for operational convenience?

Cancelling services on a daily basis has made travel unreliable for all SWT passengers, and reducing new trains by 26% will mean overcrowding and misery for years to come, despite the warnings of the dangers of overcrowding in the House of Commons Transport Committee's recent report.

It appears unlikely that better performance will provide significant mitigation. The Charter Standard for SWT peak period mainline trains running within 5 minutes of time is 89%, equal to one bad delay per week for a typical commuter. Although off-peak services were cut from September 2003 to improve peak performance, only 65.9% of peak mainline services were within 5 minutes of time in the 4 weeks to 8/11/2003, 60.4% in the 4 weeks to 6/12/2003, and 77.9% in the 4 weeks to 3/1/2004 (an untypical period which included the big service reductions around the Christmas holiday period).

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Stagecoach is badly failing SWT passengers and other taxpayers whilst reaping substantial profit. It seems reasonable to assume that, when Chairman Brian Souter said "Ethics are not irrelevant but some are incompatible with what we have to do as capitalism is based on greed", he meant it and continues to mean it.

SWT's vigorous public relations machine

Against this background of the SRA's remarkably generous treatment of Stagecoach, and Stagecoach's continuing failure to provide the service standards for which passengers and other taxpayers foot the bill, SWT's PR machine has gone into overdrive:

the new SWT 'E-motion' magazine strives to show SWT in a positive light, with performance presented as a peripheral issue, when at all;

SWT's 'Every Second Counts' initiative exhorts passengers to board and alight from trains quickly, justifies closing doors 30 seconds before departure time, and seeks passengers' views on punctuality. Quite how this will help performance when the main problems are infrastructure, poorly maintained trains, and crew shortage is anyone's guess.

SWT's website offers a wealth of confusing statistical material, which links with 'Every Second Counts'. A typically perverse entry: "The Good News - A significant disruption occurred with the traction current at Waterloo platforms 1-4. The incident was well managed, and resulted in delays of less than 1000 minutes [nearly 17 hours] despite having to reform trains in the morning peak. This is a significant achievement as problems of this nature have previously resulted in cumulative delays from 3000 minutes [more than 2 days]".

The December 2003 issue of Rail Professional, in an article 'Graham, the guardian angel', states that "Graham Eccles, railwayman-in-chief at Stagecoach, has been drafted in to advise the men at the top of Network Rail what to do". Commuters might think he would be better employed putting SWT to rights. Or is this to further Stagecoach's goal of vertical integration, so that they would take control of the tracks on SWT, and presumably maintain them to the same standards that they maintain their train services? And this is the same Mr Eccles who told the November 2002 edition of the same magazine that if Stagecoach don't get the deal they want on SWT they "won't hesitate to walk away" - unlikely words for a guardian angel.

In the second edition of SWT's 'E-motion' magazine, there is a report of a meeting between Transport Minister Kim Howells, and SWT Managing Director Andrew Haines who had in effect argued that information in PR leaflets was none of the Advertising Standards Authority's business. Mr Howells is quoted as saying "I have learned a great deal. You need to hear sensible, experienced voices of the railways. I have spent time with drivers, signallers and managers alike. --- Well, first of all, Andrew's a Merthyr boy! But seriously, he knows the railways backwards and I have learnt a lot from him. We need to listen to people like Andrew Haines and their experience of Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority."

(Wouldn't it be more constructive to find out why SWT is seriously short of drivers, and why their trains - especially the Wessex Electrics - are constantly failing? And why are 120 Juniper carriages being returned to the rolling stock company on the grounds that they are unreliable when they achieve better performance on Gatwick Express and Scotrail. A non-SWT source is quoted in the January 2004 edition of Rail Professional as saying "Bad maintenance and bad reliability go hand in hand. Gatwick Express has a strong maintenance regime and it has one of the most reliable new trains anywhere on the Network. SWT doesn't.")

Dr Howells might be well advised to show caution in his dealings with SWT. Stagecoach is no more respectful of Government than of the passengers it throws off its trains short of destination, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission or the Advertising Standards Authority. Note this quote from 'Stagecoach' by Christian Wolmar:

"Souter was so ecstatic about his purchase of Porterbrook that, soon after the deal, he regaled a bunch of railway bigwigs with the following ditty to the tune of the Teddy Bears' Picnic, poking fun at Sir George Young, the Transport Secretary, who was based in Marsham Street in Westminster:

If you go down to Marsham Street, you'll never believe your eyes;
If you go down to Marsham Street, you're sure of a big surprise.
The Porterbrook sale was never expected,
Poor Sir George is feeling rejected,
And Mr Watts will never be re-elected."

[POSTSCRIPT TO THIS MEMORANDUM
- The SRA has fulifilled SWT's wishes in allowing the company to operate services from Waterloo to Bristol, meaning that 5 operators will now use busy Temple Meads station (one policy for Waterloo and another for major regional stations?
- Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, Chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Transport, has kindly written to say she will read the memorandum very carefully and hope we are successful in getting what we desire. The Committee's latest report finds that "Chaired by Richard Bowker, the SRA appears ' utterly incapable of managing significant improvements'. Its record of franchise management 'is poor'." (Metro 2/4/04);
- Mr Bob Russell, MP for Colchester is complaining of the opposite side of the coin. Whilst Stagecoach clings on to SWT, popular and successful companies Anglia and First Great Eastern are to be banished from Liverpool Street operations (Guardian 15/3/04). We sent a copy of the Memorandum to Mr Russell and he says he found it of great interest.
- Following full-page advertisements in 'Rail' to publicise members of the SRA management team, Andrew Haines and Graham Eccles have 4 large pictures of themselves in Issue 3 of SWT's 'E-Motion' magazine;
- 'Rail'(No 479) states that the 120 class 458 carriages which SWT is to return to the manufacturers were "ordered as part of the deal that allowed SWT's owner, Stagecoach, to buy Porterbrook." Whilst Stagecoach no longer owns Portebrook, that does sound as if there was a commitment which the SRA has allowed SWT to jettison.]

ANNEX A

TRANSPORT SUB-COMMITTEE
NEW INQUIRY: PASSENGER RAIL FRANCHISING

MEMORANDUM ON BEHALF OF THE SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAIL USERS’ GROUP

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Long-term, stable but responsive, arrangements should be a prime goal in almost any area of government policy. They can maximise value from taxpayers’ investments and allow people to go about their lives with confidence in the future. Short-term contracts look anomalous against a ten-year transport plan. In the case of the railways, the long timescales for achieving change mean that such contracts may offer the operators little or no return from investment. Major financial contributions by the private sector therefore become unlikely.

However, huge amounts of public money have gone into the rail industry since privatisation, “fat cats” have been created, and in many areas of the country passengers get worse standards of service. It should by now be clear to all sides that things have gone badly wrong. A change of course looks inevitable, but the Government’s new thinking will prove right only if it can offer both an escape route from past mistakes and a clear strategy for the future. It would be unwise to reject short-term arrangements out of hand. Some rail companies have now agreed to significant improvements in return for short term extensions of their contracts.

THE LESSONS OF THE PAST

The strengths of BR Opinion sampling by the media suggests there are significant public aspirations for re-nationalisation. BR was perceived by many as bureaucratic, over-staffed and unresponsive, but it had many strengths:

- The public service ethos. It is a legendary anecdote that the late Sir Bob Reid, when Chairman of BR, would answer policy questions with the counter-question: “What’s best for the passenger?” Sir Peter Parker popularised the national system by offering bargain Saturday excursions on quality trains used by business travellers during the week. Chris Green brought affordable off-peak travel to the populous South East through the Network Card.

- Investment in electrification or new diesel trains often led to a major cascade of rolling stock with the oldest coaches being confined to the scrapheap. This meant that one scheme could bring far-flung advantages to taxpayers.

- A national fare structure meant that experienced passengers could make a reasonable estimate of the cost of any journey, by taking account of distance, day of week, and time of day.

- There were nationwide regulations which were generally unremarkable.

- Standards of personal service were broadly predictable.

- Timetables were recast over wide areas, ensuring journey opportunities were not sacrificed by unreliable or time-wasting connections.

- Until the Clapham disaster, high safety standards were taken for granted..

The problems with privatisation

- Passengers now feel that they are at the mercy of some private companies like South West Trains, which are seen as operations-driven and making big profits from big subsidies by providing an unreliable service.

- There is no rolling stock cascade, so the quality gap between old and new carriages widens.

- The fares structure is unintelligible and not even booking clerks always know whether someone is getting the cheapest fare for their needs.

- Some passengers can buy their tickets in the comfort of a train seat, whilst others can get a penalty fare, and be made to feel criminal, just by going near a train without a ticket. There can be substantial problems for passengers required to use ticket machines. For example, how can a non-regular traveller be expected to know the difference between a travelcard (London zonal ticket) and railcard (pre-purchased pass giving entitlement to reduced fares)?

- Personal service varies immensely, from Connex, where passengers can travel long-distances without seeing a member of staff, to good hotel standards on GNER.

- Timetable changes can incur severe time penalties for “losers”, as in SWT’s recast of Waterloo-Weymouth line services from 1999, which brought slower journeys and older rolling stock for passengers using the major interchange at Clapham Junction. In addition, the decelerated off-peak services between Waterloo and Poole now block two of Southampton Central’s four tracks for about 20 minutes of each hour, severely constraining capacity. The changes have thwarted Anglia Railways’ plans to introduce Southampton-Norwich trains, linking with the Heathrow bus shuttle at Feltham. This is the rail equivalent of Stagecoach’s behaviour to other bus operators which the Monopolies and Mergers Commission condemned as “predatory, deplorable, and against the public interest.

- A series of disasters has drained passenger confidence, with Railtrack seen as putting profit before safety.

- Overall, inconsistencies across the train operating companies mean that fewer passengers are likely to be totally content. For example, who wouldn’t like new Virgin trains, GNER customer service, and Chiltern’s long-distance day returns in combination?

Re-franchising: what went wrong?

Re-franchising was supposed to procure big improvements for passengers through longer franchise contracts. Unfortunately, the exercise immediately followed two separate routes and derailed itself:

- The Deputy Prime Minister made clear that the interests of passengers were paramount, and there would be no room in the rail industry for the worst performers. The Rail Passengers Committees went to great lengths to consult local government and rail users and compiled exhaustive lists of aspirations.

- Sir Alistair Morton chose to be non-prescriptive, asking the train operators what they were prepared to offer.

- These opposite approaches inevitably meant that no unified strategy emerged. The results have been bewildering for passengers. The first outcomes, the new long-term contract for Chiltern and the short extension for Midland seemed fairly uncontroversial. Both companies’ tenures had reflected perceived strengths of BR, in particular by offering maximum benefit from new trains through full timetable recasts.

- Connex’s loss of their South Central franchise was no surprise, given their performance record. Rival bidder Govia was open and consistent in its intentions: commitment to new rolling stock and recast timetable, upgrading of the Mid-Sussex route, electrification of the Ashford-Hastings and Oxted-Uckfield lines, and long-term aspiration to reinstate the Uckfield-Lewes link. This sounded like classic BR, and likely to receive public acclaim. However, the lively public meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee at Lewes in May revealed that East Sussex residents would have preferred to keep Connex, with the Uckfield-Lewes link being given priority over the more westerly Mid-Sussex line, improving prospects for the ailing East Sussex economy. Lack of a unique strategic drive meant that Connex versus Govia had become East Sussex versus West Sussex.

- In the case of the East Coast route, Virgin proposed a new relief route and GNER enhancement of the existing route. The SRA was seen to dither in choosing between such greatly different proposals, but users campaigned through the Yorkshire Post to keep GNER, and have succeeded, although initially only through a two-year extension.

- Choice of Stagecoach as the preferred bidder for South West Trains was probably the greatest shock for passengers. In the January 2001 edition of “Inside Labour” the Deputy Prime Minister stated: “The Strategic Rail Authority has already shown its clout by taking action against one franchise for failing passengers”. Similarly, “Choices for Britain” refers to the SRA’s tough new powers, stating: “Already one rail company has been stripped of its franchise. This clearly refers to Connex South Central. Yet SWT’s record had been abysmal in terms of both performance (always near the bottom) and the SRA’s own latest findings on passenger satisfaction (20th place out of the 26 operating companies).

- The treatment of Connex seems perfectly in accord with the Deputy Prime Minister’s stated approach, but the success of Stagecoach on SWT is perceived by many commuters as a betrayal of their interests, and sending out a dreadful message to the rail industry that in future poor operators have little to fear.

- Rival bidders for SWT (GNER and First Group) had their bids rejected, even though they had both achieved much higher passenger satisfaction ratings than Stagecoach. GNER (3rd place in the SRA’s satisfaction ratings) and First Great Eastern (9th place) also shared the National Rail Award 2000 for best operator.

South West Trains re-franchising: passenger disillusion

- History had been ignored. The original franchising of SWT to Stagecoach was the privatisation which the Conservative government came to regret. The company won the franchise, and a subsidy of £350 million from public funds over seven years, with a bid which was just £200,000 lower than that of the existing management.

- After winning the franchise, Stagecoach quickly disposed of 125 middle managers and 71 train drivers. Within a year, the company was unable to run the advertised service. Some services were suspended and a permanently reduced service of local stopping trains was introduced in road-congested Southern Hampshire.

- The public outcry was immense. Typical of the comments were those of the prospective parliamentary candidate for Southampton Test, Alan Whitehead, who is now a Parliamentary Under Secretary in DTLR: “We have the misfortune to live in the part of the country served by the worst single example of rail privatisation - South West Trains. Anybody who has travelled on the service recently will know that the whole system is in chaos, added to by South West Trains’ recent decision to scrap more than 190 of its services in a week.” (Southern Daily Echo, 8/3/97).

- Steven Norris, the Under Secretary of State for Transport at the time of the franchise exercise, has said, “Awarding the franchise to Stagecoach was really taking the fight to the enemy… It was the most aggressive decision we could take, and if we had to dress privatisation in its most acceptable form, it would have been better to award it to almost anyone else”

and

“We in the Conservative Party were very happy at the way rail privatisation was going - new investment, new ideas, new services. … SWT instantly unwound all that. It was so obviously to the disadvantage of passengers, and so clearly an act committed by a private company. It left a bad taste instantly in people’s mouths about SWT. Even now, the intelligent non-transport buff will remember SWT and it will take years to get SWT out of the political lexicon”. (from the book “Stagecoach” by Christian Wolmar).

- Who could have imagined that New Labour would tolerate and reward a private train operator which had earned the condemnation of the Conservatives?

- Since 1997, SWT under Stagecoach has gained a reputation among regular passengers for:

- soaring profits from public subsidy which are completely disproportionate compared with those of other operators;

- increasingly huge fines for bad performance, running short trains, omitting scheduled stops and terminating trains short of destination;

- use of ruthless clamping contractors at some station car parks, sometimes with cavalier treatment of disabled people;

- refusal to hold vital connections for even a few seconds;

- lack of information, particularly when things go wrong;

- train fires;

- poor maintenance leading to protracted absence of passenger facilities and non-functional information systems;

- severe discomfort for passengers from broken seats and faulty air-conditioning on trains; awards for “secure stations” where ticket gates are unattended and locked out of use in late evening when passenger security is a real issue;

- poor industrial relations with recurrent strike action; and

- a constantly high level of passenger discontent and anger manifested in huge numbers of letters of complaint, the replies to which in many cases take months to reach the writer and are usually in the form of unhelpful standard letters.

Remarkable chain of events after Stagecoach named preferred bidder for SWT

The announcement of Stagecoach as preferred bidder has been followed by a series of events which have further shaken passenger confidence in re-franchising:

- SWT’s annual profit for 2000/01 soared further to £45 million, equivalent to some 80 to 90 per cent of taxpayers’ subsidy for the year. This is hugely disproportionate to the profits of other operators. Stagecoach explained the profit in terms of its having being comparatively unaffected by the aftermath of the Hatfield crash (Evening Standard, 20/6/01).

- Despite its fortunate position post-Hatfield (and therefore presumably being owed only limited compensation from Railtrack for operating impediments), SWT’s annual performance penalty soared to £11.5 million, compared with £3.9 million the previous year.

- Stagecoach’s pre-tax losses for the year amounted to well over £300 million, casting doubt on whether it could commit SWT to much investment beyond the hire of new rolling stock for the mandatory replacement of Mark I coaches.

- Passengers cannot have an effective voice on rail issues when the full facts are not available to them. It became clear that, although the Government has long declared that rail passengers should have an effective voice, Stagecoach had deliberately spread confusion about the scale of its commitment. SWT Chairman, Graham Eccles, is quoted in the May edition of the journal Rail Professional as saying, “For the big PR hit, what you do is add up guaranteed outputs, the primary aspirations and the secondary aspirations, and then you shout loudly”.

- Consistent with this approach, SWT Managing Director, Andrew Haines, presented the whole package of commitments (£1.7 billion) and aspirations (£1.8 billion) in the Southern Daily Echo of 6 February as “real benefits for the people of Southampton” compared with Sea Containers’ “vague promises”. This clearly suggested that all the elements of the package were promises, and that people could therefore rely on full implementation if the Stagecoach bid proved successful. Subsequent letters from rail users to the Echo and other local papers are demonstrating confusion and disappointment.

- Following the announcement of Stagecoach’s successful bid, the Spring edition of SWT’s Gold Service magazine for annual season ticket holders bore the following message from Mr Haines: “In all we plan to invest around £3.5 billion in delivering a better service to you. On paper that amount of money means little, but in terms of refurbished stations, passenger lounges, disabled access, state-of-the-art information systems, better security, new trains, extra staff, better ticketing facilities and improved performance it means an awful lot”. In fact, the items outlined are broadly the components of SWT’s £1.7 billion bid, so £3.5 billion would indeed provide an awful lot.

- Glossy zonal leaflets, currently displayed on trains and at major stations, refer to an order of 785 new trains worth around £1 billion. In fact the order is for 785 new carriages with a purchase price of £640 million. The Advertising Standards Authority is looking at this.

Conclusions

- The railways need a supremo to drive up standards in all areas of activity, including safety, infrastructure, timetabling, rolling stock procurement and maintenance, ticketing and customer service. While the industry relies on subsidies from taxpayers it must be prepared to accept control mechanisms comparable with those which operate in the public service.

- Best practice should be robustly pursued in all areas. This will tend to bring some degree of uniformity to a fragmented industry and make it less likely that anything will go seriously wrong in some particular corner.

- The two-pronged approach of seeking public aspirations and industry proposals as discrete exercises should end. The Government should identify taxpayers’ aspirations, make strategic decisions, and negotiate with satisfactory operators. The worst operators should have no place in the industry, as the Deputy Prime Minister used to make clear.

- In recognition of the problems for operators of long-term investment under short term contracts, the Government should negotiate with them to achieve its strategic aspirations. Instead of offering twenty year contracts in return for a mixture of committed outputs and long-term aspirations which may never materialise, the length of a contract should be relative to the scale of committed output. There should then be periodic reviews, perhaps every two years at which, subject to satisfactory performance and attainment of targets, the term of the contract could be rolled forward in return for additional commitments.

ANNEX B

Note: These details are snapshots. The Group does not have the resources to provide a full picture of SWT's performance shortcomings. Trains often become increasingly late during the course of their journeys, and the 'minutes late' figures may not represent the position at the end of a journey.

6/12/03 10.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 10.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke started from Woking due to train failure. 13.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 14 minutes late. 13.54 / 14.47 / 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo cancelled. 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 16 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 10 minutes late. 14.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 14.33 Waterloo-Exeter 18 minutes late. 14.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court and 15.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 15.07 Shepperton-Waterloo axed between Shepperton and Fulwell. 14.45 / 15.45 Waterloo-Dorking, and 15.49 / 16.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 15.28 Waterloo-Windsor and 16.27 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 17.33 Chessington-Waterloo and 17..33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 18.22 Exeter-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 21..24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 22.16 Farnham-Waterloo cancelled due to cancellation of preceding train. 22.30 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew.

7/12/03 13.10 Brighton-Reading 34 minutes late. 17.32 Waterloo-Reading started over 15 minutes late. 19.10 Brighton-Reading cancelled.

8/12/03 06.34 Southampton-Romsey 10 minutes late. 15.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 15.54 10 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all stops between Woking and Surbiton. 16.48 Waterloo-Dorking omitted all stops before Epsom. 17.22 Waterloo-Guildford and 17.33 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke, 18.23 Waterloo-Reading and 18.37 Waterloo-Alton all reduced to 8 coaches. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 24 minutes late. 20.54 Reading-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

9/12/03 05.42 and 06.19 Poole-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo and 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford and 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court reduced to 4 coaches. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 10 minutes late at Southampton; London-bound trains noted to be in a queue at St Denys. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 19.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 31 minutes late; 19.32 13 minutes late. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole and 20..30 Waterloo-Weymouth 27 minutes late.

10/12/03 07.20 Wareham-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo and 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late; 19.00 18 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. 19.14 Romsey-Totton 15 minutes late. 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 24 minutes late.

11/12/03 12.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late. 11.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 11.40 Waterloo-Basingstoke 17 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 15.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Basingstoke due to duff stock. 17.36 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 4 coaches. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late. 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton 18 minutes late. 18.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 36 minutes late; 19.20 13 minutes late; 19.40 24 minutes late; 20.00 26 minutes late; 20.20 12 minutes late. 19.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 16 minutes late. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 21 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.17 Guildford-Waterloo 30 minutes late; 19.57 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 21 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 25 minutes late. 19.33 Chessington-Waterloo 31 minutes late. 19.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 19.42 Waterloo-Woking 19 minutes late. 19.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.49 Dorking-Waterloo 32 minutes late and omitted all stops after Epsom. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 31 minutes late. 19.52 Waterloo-Chessington 27 minutes late. 19.54 Waterloo-Guildford 19 minutes late. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston 19 minutes late. 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 20.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 28 minutes late. 20.12 Waterloo-Windsor 25 minutes late. 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton and 20.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 16 minutes late. 20.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops after Surbiton. 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford and 21.57 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 20.53 Alton-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.57 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 21.08 Chessington-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 21.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 21.11 Windsor-Waterloo axed between Windsor and Staines. 21.15 Woking-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 21.17 Twickenham-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 21.17 Guildford-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo cancelled.

12/12/03 Fatality at Hinton Admiral involving the 06.53 Poole-Waterloo which was delayed by 90 minutes; 05.35 Waterloo-Weymouth terminated at Bournemouth; 07.07 Weymouth-Eastleigh 30 minutes late; 07.20 Wareham-Waterloo axed between Wareham and Brockenhurst. 08.08 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth axed west of Exeter. 16.00 Waterloo-Poole 6 minutes late by Totton with considerable overcrowding from Southampton. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 16.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.33 Portsmouth-Poole over 15 minutes late at Totton. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 17.34 Woking-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke 15 minutes late due to duff train in front. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 19.14 Romsey-Totton 17 minutes late. 19.50 Plymouth-Salisbury axed between Plymouth and Exeter. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 35 minutes late. 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter 20 minutes late.

13/12/03 Engineering work with substitute buses between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth. 07.48 from Poole 27 minutes late due to no crew.. 07.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 09.00 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 09.23 Waterloo-Haslemere started from Woking due to duff stock. 09.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 10.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 10.48 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to no crew. 12.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 16.23 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to no crew. 16.33 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Brockenhurst had no connecting transport on to Poole. 17.23 Basingstoke-Brighton 18 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 19 minutes late. 17.26 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 37 minutes late and had no connecting transport from Poole. 18.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 19.00 Brockenhurst-Waterloo started from Southampton, with no connecting transport from Weymouth. 19.05 Reading-Brighton 17 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 19.30 Waterloo-Brockenhurst 23 minutes late, with no connecting transport on to Weymouth. 19.48 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 19.49 Southampton-Portsmouth terminated at Fratton. 20.54 Portsmouth-Winchester cancelled. 20.57 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 21.03 Waterloo-Shepperton and 22.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor and 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Guildford and 22.50 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Woking. 21.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court and 22.26 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 20.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 21.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 22.40 Portsmouth-Southampton cancelled.

14/12/03 08.59 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 09.03 Waterloo-Plymouth 25 minutes late due to engineering works. 10.03 Waterloo-Exeter 37 minutes late due to duff stock. 10.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 10.25 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 11.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Haslemere due to track repairs. 15.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 15.56 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 16.10 Brighton-Reading axed between Brighton and Cosham. 16.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.03 Waterloo-Paignton reduced to 3 carriages. 18.28 Weybridge-Waterloo and 18.30 Reading-Waterloo both over 10 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Reading about 15 minutes late.

15/12/03 Engineering works between Poole and Brockenhurst overran. No trains from Poole until 07.45. Southern Daily Echo reported passengers' criticisms that SWT failed to provide an alternative bus service. 05.35 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 28 minutes late by Totton; 05.55 21 minutes late. 06.24 and 07.08 Brockenhurst-Waterloo cancelled. 06.49 Brockenhurst-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches of ancient slam-door stock, and 31 minutes late; horrible overcrowding. Evening service collapsed due to duff train blocking Bournemouth depot: 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo cancelled. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo over 15 minutes late. 16.30, 17.15 and 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth all reduced to 5 coaches; 18.05 Waterloo-Poole departed at 18.16 due to incoming train 33 minutes late; 21.30 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Basingstoke due to no crew; 21.55 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late; 22.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth cancelled due to no crew. Other failures: 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 16.32 Waterloo-Basingstoke, and 17.28 / 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth all reduced to 4 coaches. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton and 18.00 Waterloo-Guildford all reduced to 8 coaches. 16.47 Guildford-Waterloo omitted 6 stops. 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops from Surbiton. 17.19 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 17.54 Waterloo-Haslemere and 19.15 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington and 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled due to no crew. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 52 minutes late; 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 33 minutes late; 20.53 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late.

16/12/03 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 06.19 10 minutes late. 15.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late due to duff stock. 16..01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late due to duff stock; omitted intermediate stations after Guildford. 16.33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 16.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 17.43 Waterloo-Windsor reduced to 4 coaches. 18.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late due to no crew. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 22.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Branksome due to duff stock.

17/12/03 Railway closed between Eastleigh and Fareham for much of day due to defective power supply. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late due to duff stock. 06.25 Weybridge-Waterloo axed between Weybridge and Virginia Water. 07.51 Portsmouth-Waterloo started from Fareham due to duff stock. 07.53 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth over 20 minutes late. 12.40 Paignton-Waterloo started from Exeter due to duff stock. Emergency track repairs in the Branksome area: 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late; 13.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 13.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 14.55 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 15.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 15.14 Romsey-Totton 15 minutes late. 15.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 12 minutes late. 15.55 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled. 16.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 16.42 and 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late; 17.42 20 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 26 minutes late, due to no crew. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 18.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 19.02 Aldershot-Guildford cancelled. 19.25 Guildford-Ascot and 20.23 Ascot-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late due to no crew. 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 20..30 Waterloo-Weymouth about 10 minutes late. 21.06 Woking-Staines, 21.12 Waterloo-Guildford and 21.17 Waterloo-Twickenham cancelled.

18/12/03 Reduced to 4 coaches: 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 17.47 Guildford-Waterloo; 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo. Cancelled: 16.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton. Late: 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth axed between Waterloo and Woking and 16 minutes late, due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late.

19/12/03 Emergency engineering work at Branksome. 04.58 Poole-Waterloo cancelled. 05.34 Bournemouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late by Totton.. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 38 minutes late by Southampton - Interesting insight into how SWT's 'Every Second Counts' initiative works in practice; waiting commuters were spread along platform 1 at Southampton Central, which had been blocked for some time by the 07.14 to Portsmouth which seemed to be receiving a lot of attention but clearly wasn't going anywhere; two minutes before the London train arrived, SWT announced that it would now run from platform 3; wild scramble across the footbridge; passengers then discover that the front unit is in reverse formation - holders of first class tickets sprint halfway along platform 3; passengers at further stops also not informed; train about 50 minutes late at Waterloo where it was still to form the 08.30 to Weymouth which - by that time, should almost have reached Woking. 06.19 Poole-Waterloo cancelled. 08.55 Waterloo-Poole cancelled. Reduced to 4 coaches: 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow; 16.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 18.15 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill; 18.19 Waterloo-Shepperton; 18.24 Waterloo-Guildford. 17..39 Waterloo-Farnham reduced to 8 coaches. 18.05 Wessex Electric service to Poole advertised as 5 coaches only; was actually a 12 coach set of ancient Mark I stock with some carriages unheated, many windows which wouldn't close tight due to grime and lack of maintenance, and a duff buffet trolley which couldn't provide hot drinks. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 22 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo, 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton and 19.24 Reading-Waterloo all about 12 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton cancelled. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended from early afternoon due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

20/12/03 Cancellations: 10.52/21.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 11.33/22.38 Chessington-Waterloo; 11.40/14.40/16.40 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 10.14/13.14/15.14 21.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 13.24/ 14.54/15.24/15.54/16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 07.32/13.32/13.48/14.48 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 09.52/13.52/17.22/21.56 Waterloo-Reading; 11.42/13.42/15.42/18.12/19.12 /21.24/21.54 Reading-Waterloo; 14.15/15.45 Waterloo-Dorking; 15.19/15.49/16.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 15.30/16.00/20.45/21.45 Waterloo-Guildford; 10.04/13.47/14.17/17.04/17.34/21.17/23.00 Guildford-Waterloo; 15.33/22.33 Waterloo-Shepperton; 08.37/16.37 Shepperton-Waterloo; 15.58/21.42 Waterloo-Windsor; 16.55/22.45 Windsor-Waterloo; 16.07 Waterloo-Weybridge; 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo (passengers thrown off at Bournemouth); 21.55 Waterloo-Poole; 19.23/21.23/22.23 Ascot-Guildford; 20.27/21.27/22.27 /23.27 Guildford-Ascot; 20..45 Waterloo-Southampton; 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 21.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 22.19 Hampton Court-Waterloo; 23.23/00.31 Ascot-Farnham; 22.32 Waterloo-Kingston; 23.19 Kingston-Waterloo; 23.20 Reading-Wokingham. Reduced to 4 coaches: 08.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke (due to duff stock and ran 19 minutes late); 14.40/17.40 Haslemere-Waterloo; 15.53/19.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 17.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo. Late: 06.55 Southampton-Waterloo 43 minutes late; 08.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 32 minutes late; 09.08 30 minutes late. 09.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 13.48 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 21.19 Kingston-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended all day due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

21/12/03 09.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth 10 minutes late at Southampton. 10.13 Portsmouth-Eastleigh 18 minutes late. 10.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 10.58 Southampton-Salisbury cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 11.00 Salisbury-Paignton 40 minutes late due to track repairs. 12.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.28 Waterloo-Hampton Court 15 minutes late due to no crew. 16.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended all day due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

22/12/03 With far fewer people than normal travelling at the beginning of Christmas week, SWT did a passenger count at Staines station in the morning peak. 06.06 Brockenhurst-Winchester cancelled. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo nearly 15 minutes late. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 18.35 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 18.37 Southampton-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 21.55 Waterloo-Poole departed late due to duff stock.

23/12/03 05.42 Poole-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth delayed at Brockenhurst due to no crew. 07.04 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 07.10 Waterloo-Paignton 17 minutes late. 07.28 Eastleigh-Waterloo 18 minutes late; passengers for stations from Hook to Farnborough thrown off for operational convenience. 07.50 Aldershot-Waterloo cancelled. 08.20 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 08.27 Woking-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 09.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo omitted all stops before Richmond. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late; stops at Witley, Milford, Godalming, Farncombe, Worplesdon and Clapham Junction omitted for operational convenience. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late; 17.25 18 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 20 minutes late due to awaiting carriages to form train.

24/12/03 07.11, 13.05 and 16.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 07.20 Basingstoke-Yeovil axed between Basingstoke and Salisbury. 07.41 West Byfleet-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches. 09.08 Weymouth-Waterloo axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 10.00 Brighton-Reading axed between Basingstoke and Reading. 10.30 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 10.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth due to duff stock. 11.07 Waterloo-Weybridge 16 minutes late due to no crew. 11.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo still advertised as delayed at Portsmouth 30 minutes after its scheduled departure time. Alleged vandalism in the Southampton Central area caused afternoon chaos; no explanation of the nature of the problem and, at 16.30, no record on the National Rail website's section on current / cleared incidents. 13.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 51 minutes late. 13.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 32 minutes late. 14.25 Totton-Romsey 16 minutes late. 14.55 Southampton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 13.48 Poole-Waterloo - a 4-coach train of ancient Mark I stock - about 10 minutes late. 13.45 Paignton-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 14.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 25 minutes late. 15.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 15.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled due to no driver. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 16.00 Brighton-Reading 24 minutes late. Broken down train caused afternoon chaos in the Portsmouth area. 15.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 60 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Woking; 15.54 47 minutes late; 16.01 62 minutes late; 16.17 40 minutes late due to duff stock; 16.57 31 minutes late. 16.33 Portsmouth-Poole 40 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Southampton. 16.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late; stops at Petersfield and Haslemere omitted for operational convenience. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo axed between Portsmouth and Fareham. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.29 Waterloo-Hampton Court 33 minutes late. 17.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no driver. 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled.

27/12/03 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 08.48 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 08.48 Poole-Waterloo 33 minutes late due to duff stock. 09.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 09.45 Waterloo-Dorking and 10.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 12.00 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 5 coaches. 20.33 Waterloo-Yeovil 25 minutes late. 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo axed between Bournemouth and Waterloo. 21.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 21.30 Waterloo-Poole and 21.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 21.40 Brighton-Salisbury 20 minutes late. 22.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke, 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor, 23.03 Epsom-Waterloo, 23.17 Waterloo-Dorking and 23.33 Portsmouth-Guildford cancelled.

28/12/03 08.32 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 11.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 22 minutes late due to waiting for carriages to form the train. 11.25 Windsor-Waterloo via Richmond diverted via Hounslow due to a signalling problem; 10 scheduled stops omitted, 6 of which the train would have passed despite the diversion. 10.57 Waterloo to Weybridge via Hounslow diverted via Richmond due to a signalling problem; all 22 booked stops omitted, but an additional stop scheduled at Richmond. 10.00 Reading-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. Romsey-Totton service collapsed from early afternoon and no remedial action for rest of the day. 14.55/16.55/22.05 Totton-Romsey cancelled; 19.55 axed between Southampton Central and Romsey. 14.00/15.53/18.00/21.00 Romsey-Totton cancelled. 23.02 Romsey-Southampton cancelled. 17.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

29/12/03 Rain brought the usual flooding at Sway and withdrawal of all train services between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth from early afternoon. 14.26 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 33 minutes late; 15.00 one hour late; 15.26 29 minutes late; 16.26 63 minutes late; 17.00 38 minutes late; 17.24 23 minutes late; 18.00 22 minutes late; 20.26 30 minutes late. 18.30 and 19.50 Waterloo-Brockenhurst cancelled due to no crew. Many Waterloo-Brockenhurst trains formed of slam-door outer-suburban stock including the 17.00 to Poole. 17.22 Waterloo-Reading reduced to 4 coaches; 18.52 delayed due to no crew. 17.12 Reading-Waterloo 40 minutes late; 20.24 cancelled due to duff stock. 14.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 19 minutes late.

30/12/03 Peak services so reduced during the holiday period that the 05.41 Poole-Waterloo had many standing passengers. 11.33 Waterloo-Plymouth and 16.50 Plymouth-Waterloo operated only between Waterloo and Totnes. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 27 minutes late due to no crew. 15.39 Waterloo-Guildford, 16.50 Guildford-Waterloo, 17.59 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 18.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo, 19.22 Waterloo-Chessington and 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo all reduced to 4 coaches. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 20.37 Shepperton-Waterloo, 19.45 Waterloo-Southampton, 22.30 Southampton-Waterloo, 20.56 / 22.26 Waterloo-Reading, 22.24 Reading-Waterloo and 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 21 minutes late.

31/12/03 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 4 coaches due to duff stock. 12.48 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 17.02 and 18.15 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches; 19.18 21 minutes late.

2/1/04 12.00 Waterloo-Poole and 12.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 15.53 Gillingham-Waterloo, 16.55 Windsor-Waterloo and 19.45 Waterloo-Southampton all about 15 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 19.49 Dorking-Waterloo, 20.37 Shepperton-Waterloo, 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford, 21.26 Waterloo-Reading and 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor cancelled due to no crew. 23.20 Reading-Wokingham cancelled due to cancellation of previous train. From around 21.00, services to and from Waterloo which had not already been cancelled were delayed for up to an hour due to a person, believed to be attempting suicide, on a bridge in the Surbiton area.

3/1/04 07.10 Waterloo-Exeter 42 minutes late. 08.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late due to delay on previous journey. 08.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late due to awaiting carriages. 10.00 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 10.33 Waterloo-Paignton 19 minutes late. 11.44 Axminster-Exeter axed between Axminster and Honiton. 14.33 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late. 17.33 Waterloo-Yeovil 36 minutes late due to no crew. 19.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke and 55 minutes late, due to cancellation of previous train. 20.56 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no crew. 21.45 Woking-Waterloo cancelled. 22.27 Guildford-Ascot cancelled. 23.23 Ascot-Farnham cancelled. 23.32 Bournemouth-Waterloo cancelled due to no driver.

4/1/04 Day started with railway closed in the Fratton area for emergency track repairs. 08.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth advertised as 31 minutes late due to awaiting carriages and then as 57 minutes late at Woking due to engineering work. 09.28 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 09.00 Romsey-Totton 11 minutes late. 18.00 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Ascot. With people returning from Christmas leave, Waterloo was advertised as shut for a time in the early evening, following an engineers' crane toppling on to the fast tracks at Clapham and causing serious damage: 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 98 minutes late; 16.30 cancelled. 17.30 17 minutes late and terminated Bournemouth; 18.30 15 minutes late. 15.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth 74 minutes late; 16.50 39 minutes late. 18.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 30 minutes late. 19.00 Reading-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 19.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 20.09 Waterloo-Guildford axed between Waterloo and Wimbledon.

5/1/04 With commuting returning to full volumes, emergency timetable introduced due to the crane damage. West of England trains axed between Basingstoke and Waterloo. Guildford-Leatherhead-Waterloo services withdrawn. Portsmouth-Eastleigh-Waterloo services axed between Winchester and Waterloo. Chessington-Waterloo services withdrawn. Hampton Court-Waterloo services axed between Surbiton and Waterloo. Alton/Farnham-Waterloo services replaced by an Alton-Guildford service. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 35 minutes late; additional stops at Micheldever, Basingstoke and Woking, with inhuman overcrowding. 16.00 Brighton-Reading axed between Brighton and Worthing. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late with such catastrophic overcrowding that many passengers left behind; 18.30 18 minutes late; 19.30 38 minutes late. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 18 minutes late; 18.32 56 minutes late; 19.00 44 minutes late; 19.20 27 minutes late; 19.40 21 minutes late; 20.00 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 30 minutes late; 18.50 44 minutes late; 19.50 19 minutes late. 18.37 Waterloo-Reading 58 minutes late. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant 46 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 39 minutes late; 20.10 12 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Ascot. 19..56 Waterloo-Reading and 21.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 20.03 Waterloo-Shepperton 23 minutes late due to no crew. 20.23 Ascot-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled.

6/1/04 Emergency timetable continued. Loud groans from passengers at Southampton Central when announcements gave three versions of the stopping pattern of the 05.42 Poole-Waterloo; at Basingstoke SWT thoughtfully suggested that the train's passengers might like to alight and go to Paddington; train was 45 minutes late into Waterloo. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 37 minutes late; 16.30 42 minutes late; 17.15 18 minutes late; 19.30 31 minutes late. 17.05 Brockenhurst-Weymouth 26 minutes late. 17.12 Waterloo-Guildford 37 minutes late. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 17.42 Waterloo-Guildford 18 minutes late. 17.48 Waterloo-Alton 23 minutes late. 17.54 Waterloo-Haslemere and 19.15 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 18.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 18.35 Waterloo-Exeter 27 minutes late. 18.37 Waterloo-Reading reduced to 4 coaches. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 18.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole about 30 minutes late; 19.50 24 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 24 minutes late. 19.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 23 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 22 minutes late. 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking 42 minutes late. 20.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 20.46 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 20.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 21.02 Waterloo-Kingston and 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 21.06 Woking-Staines cancelled. 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled.

7/1/04 Emergency timetable continued. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 30 minutes late; 06.19 25 minutes late. 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late due to no crew. 06.42 Hilsea-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 06.49 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 07.17 Basingstoke-Waterloo about 30 minutes late. 07.19 Aldershot-Waterloo and 09.23 Haslemere-Waterloo cancelled. 07.45 Waterloo-Southampton 15 minutes late. 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 15.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 29 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth about 29 minutes late; 17.45 50 minutes late and overtaken by the 18.30 at Southampton Central. 17.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.34 and 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth about 10 minutes late. 17.47 Guildford-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 18.47 13 minutes late. 18.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late. 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford and 18.47 Waterloo-Staines cancelled. 18.39 Waterloo-Woking 25 minutes late. 19.42 Waterloo-Windsor and 20.46 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 22 minutes late.

8/1/04 07.14 Southampton-Portsmouth announced as cancelled at 07.10. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. Stray animals on the Portsmouth line. 15.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 45 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Woking. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 35 minutes late and omitted all stops after Petersfield except Guildford. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Guildford; 17.51 left at 18.05 with many standing passengers. 18.00 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole over 20 minutes late by Southampton due to door failures at Winchester and Eastleigh; the 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth overtook at Eastleigh, ensuring that passengers from Eastleigh, Totton and Ashurst lost their connections for a faster service to Bournemouth and stations to Weymouth. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

9/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 8 minutes late. Afternoon signalling problems in the recently-resignalled Bournemouth area. Only the through Weymouth services ran west of Bournemouth, so service at Poole reduced by about two thirds. 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 50 minutes late; 14.48 32 minutes late; 21.00 11 minutes late at Southampton. 15.02 Bournemouth-Waterloo 64 minutes late, partly due to duff train in front; 16.02 22 minutes late. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late; 16.01 10 minutes late; 16.47 omitted all 4 stops from Havant to Guildford inclusive; 21.20 12 minutes late.. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 15 minutes late; 20.10 20 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late; 17.45 30 minutes late; 18.30 61 minutes late; 19.30 31 minutes late; 20.30 16 minutes late. 16.40 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 16.50 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches; 19.20 44 minutes late; 19.40 31 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Bournemouth 19 minutes late; 18.50 60 minutes late; 20.50 20 minutes late. 19.03 Waterloo-Alton 44 minutes late; 19.33 20 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 26 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 35 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 34 minutes late; 19.54 23 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 20 minutes late. 19.56 Waterloo-Reading 30 minutes late due to duff stock; all stops before Staines omitted. 19.42 and 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke 16 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo cancelled. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 22.14 Romsey-Totton and 23.25 Totton-Romsey cancelled.

10/1/04 08.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 08.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth 32 minutes late; 08.15 14 minutes late; 11.08, 16.08 and 17.08 15 minutes late. 08.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late; 10.30 30 minutes late; 11.30 17 minutes late; 16.30 19 minutes late; 17.00 17 minutes late. 08.44 Basingstoke-Reading cancelled due to duff stock. 08.44 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff train in front; 18.12 axed between Reading and Virginia Water. 10.15 Woking-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 11.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 14.48 16 minutes late. 16.22 Waterloo-Reading axed between Virginia Water and Reading. 16.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo omitted 6 stops. 18.29 Southampton-Poole 15 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton and 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 21.56 Waterloo-Reading cancelled.. 23.20 Reading-Wokingham cancelled.

11/1/04 07.05 Bournemouth-Waterloo 45 minutes late. 08.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth 10 minutes late at Southampton. Fatality at Putney and injury at St Margaret's - services collapsed. 14.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 15.00 Waterloo-Bournemouth 67 minutes late; 15.30 68 minutes late; 16.00 42 minutes late; 16.30 25 minutes late; 17.00 16 minutes late; 17.30 28 minutes late; 18.00 11 minutes late. 15.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 88 minutes late; 16.15 25 minutes late; 17.15 20 minutes late. 15.47 Waterloo-Windsor 65 minutes late; 16.47 17 minutes late. 16.28 Weybridge-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 16.47 Portsmouth-Southampton 22 minutes late. 18.00 Reading-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 18.23 Woking-Portsmouth 29 minutes late.

12/1/04 Eastleigh-Fareham line closed during afternoon due to flooding at Botley, and Brockenhurst-Bournemouth line closed most of day due to flooding at Sway - services collapsed. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late - severely overcrowded with passengers standing from Southampton Airport. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. Delayed 16.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court ran fast to Surbiton.. 17.00 Waterloo-Epsom, 17.52 Waterloo-Reading, 17.59 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere and 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford all reduced to 4 coaches. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 30 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 20 minutes late by Winchester. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 8 coaches. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Brockenhurst and 15 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 4 coaches and 20 minutes late. Although trains from Weymouth and Poole both arrive at Waterloo at 19.33, the 19.50 Waterloo-Poole was cancelled - this was presumably due to the SWT driver shortage therefore. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 21.50 Guildford-Wimbledon cancelled.

13/1/04 Fatality at Clapham, duff train at Brentford and track defect at Redbridge caused evening chaos at Waterloo. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late; front of train freezing cold. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth over an hour late; 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 50 minutes late. 14.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo over 50 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 32 minutes late. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 34 minutes late; 16.15 30 minutes late, omitting all stops after Twickenham; 17.15 30 minutes late. 16.07 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 16.15 Salisbury-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 16.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 16.20 Guildford-Waterloo 23 minutes late; 16.21 10 minutes late. 16.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke still awaiting a driver long after 18.00. 17.21 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 17.37 Waterloo-Aldershot axed between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole could have left punctually if someone had coupled the two units before departure time; 10 minutes late by Southampton despite 8 minute slack in schedule. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 20.00 Guildford-Waterloo, 20.07 Shepperton-Waterloo, 20.20 Guildford-Waterloo, 20.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 20.42 Waterloo-Windsor and 21.43 Windsor-Waterloo all cancelled. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 32 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 12 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 26 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late and missed stops at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Wimbledon. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 23 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 11 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 32 minutes late; 20.09 17 minutes late. 20.15 Woking-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late.

14/1/04 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 06.48 Guildford-Waterloo 19 minutes late; 07.04 12 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo axed between Haslemere and Guildford. 07.11 Reading-Brighton cancelled. 07.21 Portsmouth-Waterloo, 07..41 West Byfleet-Waterloo and 08.05 Waterloo-Alton all reduced to 8 coaches.. 07.28 Portsmouth-Southampton 10 minutes late. 08.38 Yeovil Junction-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 08.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Bournemouth due to duff stock. 09.17 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 09.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 09.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 09.30 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late. 10.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late; 11.25 25 minutes late. 10.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 11.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 11.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Woking. 11.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late; stops at Godalming, Farncombe and Clapham Junction axed. 11.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 18 minutes late. 11.48 Poole-Waterloo started from Bournemouth due to duff stock. 13.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 13.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 13.45 Waterloo-Southampton and 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 12 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 15.10 Waterloo-Southampton axed between Waterloo and Woking, and 16 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 16.33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled due to no driver. 16.33 Chessington-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.52 Waterloo-Alton and 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. Duff unit on front of 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth, which had to be pushed by the rear unit - train was 20 minutes late; passengers for the stopping portion to Poole therefore had to change trains at Southampton and passengers for stations beyond Bournemouth had to move from the front to the rear portion: huge upheaval. 17.33/18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton and 18.22 Waterloo-Chessington reduced to 4 coaches. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to duff stock. Chaos due to failure of the 17.33 Waterloo-Shepperton outside Waterloo and enraged passengers jumping off and walking back to the platform. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.41 Wareham-Waterloo and 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 17.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 65 minutes late. 17.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 17.50 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.53 Salisbury-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 23 minutes late; 18.15 25 minutes late; 19.00 23 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 26 minutes late. 18.34 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.34 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 18.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 40 minutes late. 18.49 Dorking-Waterloo 36 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole about 40 minutes late. 19.03 Chessington-Waterloo 38 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 21 minutes late. 19.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.20 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 19.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late; 19.40 19 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.00 Guildford-Waterloo 36 minutes late. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 16 minutes late. 20.16 Windsor-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 22 minutes late. 20.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 17 minutes late. 20.42 Waterloo-Guildford 38 minutes late.

15/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo about 7 minutes late. 17.28 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. Although the 18.05 Waterloo-Poole has one hour to get from Waterloo to Winchester, against the standard timing of 52 minutes, it still needed 67 minutes. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant 21 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 13 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 10 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton and 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 20.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 21.24 Alton-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

16/1/04 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 21 minutes late. 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 16.17 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 16.22 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches due to duff stock. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 4 coaches; stops at Woking, Brookwood, Winchfield and Hook omitted. Rear 5 coaches of 18.05 Waterloo-Poole severely overcrowded whilst front 5 coaches had large numbers of empty seats; this may have been due to the poster on Waterloo concourse saying that the train would be formed of 5 coaches only. 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court reduced to 4 coaches.

17/1/04 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late; 08.30 25 minutes late. 08.00 Waterloo-Poole cancelled due to late inward service. 08..08 Waterloo-Portsmouth 42 minutes late due to duff stock. 08.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 10.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 10.45 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 10.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 12.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 15.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 16.33 Waterloo-Exeter axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 17.35 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 17.38 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled.

18/1/04 06.50 Poole-Waterloo 27 minutes late. Delays to Waterloo-Portsmouth line services due to overrun of engineering works: a number of trains were diverted, and omitted all calls between Woking and Fratton; these included the 10.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth, and 10.20, 10.40 and 11.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo. 10.39 Waterloo-Alton 15 minutes late. 11.39 Waterloo-Guildford 20 minutes late. 12.40 Portsmouth Harbour-Waterloo ran from Portsmouth & Southsea to Woking only. 13.54 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 15.40 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 16.52 Guildford-Waterloo stopping service omitted all stops after Woking. By 20.30 most trains into Waterloo were very late (on top of programmed delays due to engineering work), for example: 17.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late; 18.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 18.55 Basingstoke-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 19.22 Guildford-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 19.28 Weybridge-Waterloo 16 minutes late..

19/1/04 16.00 Waterloo-Poole and 16.17 Guildford-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant cancelled. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 20 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 8 coaches of old Mark I stock, without the advertised buffet service, and departed at 18.11. 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 21 minutes late.19.05 Alton-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke 21 minutes late. 19.26 Waterloo-Reading 17 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Alton 32 minutes late. 19.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge cancelled. Signalling failure at Woking: delays of 90 minutes and more reported. 16.50 Plymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 54 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 69 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth and 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter 50 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 21.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 38 minutes late.

20/1/04 Cancellations included: 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 16.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 17.09 Hampton-Court-Waterloo; 17.52 Waterloo-Reading; 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.56-Windsor-Waterloo; 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo; 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo. Short formations included: 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton; 17.09 Waterloo-Woking; 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom (4 coaches); 18.05 Waterloo-Poole (8 coaches of old Mark I stock for the second day in succession) and 18.40 Waterloo-Havant (8 coaches). 17.48 Waterloo-Alton 16 minutes late.

21/1/04 11.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 14.45 Waterloo-Southampton advertised as cancelled due to no conductor; it was then reinstated as a 2-coach diesel service; at Southampton it unusually used platform 2, which is the platform for the 16.52 to Totton; the latter sat outside the station for over 10 minutes, even though platforms 3 and 4 were available; at 17.04 the 16.52 was diverted into platform 3; the 16.55 to London was eventually cancelled due to no conductor, with dozens of passengers thrown off. 16.00 Brighton-Reading 15 minutes late; passengers thrown off when it terminated at Basingstoke. 16.25 Totton-Romsey 18 minutes late at Southampton. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke cancelled. 18.39 Reading-Brighton started from Basingstoke. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge reduced to 4 coaches. 19.00 Brighton-Reading started from Worthing. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 39 minutes late. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 31 minutes late. 19.26 Waterloo-Reading 17 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 20.54 Reading-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

22/1/04 08.06 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 08.20 Waterloo-Alton axed between Waterloo and Woking. 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo stopping service ran non-stop for operational convenience. 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo terminated at Twickenham. 18.22 Waterloo-Reading and 18.39 Waterloo-Woking reduced to 4 coaches. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant reduced to 8 coaches. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking terminated at Vauxhall due to duff stock. 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 21.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 21.43 Windsor-Waterloo diverted via Brentford. 22.50 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled.

23/1/04 Despite SWT's 'Every Second Counts' propaganda, passengers at Totton had to wait two minutes for the doors of the 05.42 Poole-Waterloo to be released. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo axed between Plymouth and Exeter. 16.27 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.37 Waterloo-Ascot cancelled. 17.33 Waterloo-Teddington and 18.51 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 20 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 10 minutes late. 22.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled.

24/1/04 Bournemouth station evacuated from 11.00 to 12.00: services collapsed. 09.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 75 minutes late; 10.48 53 minutes late; 11.48 27 minutes late and axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth; 12.48 axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 11.48 Poole-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 12.48 46 minutes late and all stops between Bournemouth and London, except Southampton Central, omitted for operational convenience. 16.00 Waterloo-Poole cancelled. 16.39 Shepperton-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.41 Poole-Waterloo 16 minutes late.

25/1/04 08.21 Eastleigh-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 54 minutes late. 15.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 42 minutes late. 16.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth 12 minutes late.

26/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 07.04 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 08.22 / 16.52 Waterloo-Reading, 16.26 / 16..56 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 17.03 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.15 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill, 17.36 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Brighton-Reading and 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Basingstoke. 16.27 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham and 14 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late at Southampton.. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo, 17.45 Woking-Waterloo, 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford, 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton, 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton, 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge, 19.56 Waterloo-Reading, 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston, 20.24 Reading-Waterloo, 20.33 Waterloo-Alton, 20.49 Kingston-Waterloo, 20.49 Dorking-Waterloo, 21.26 Waterloo-Reading, 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo and 22.54 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth due to duff stock. 18.10 Waterloo-Yeovil 21 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Salisbury. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo and 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.28 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 21.10 Waterloo-Southampton axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke.

27/1/04 06.49 Portsmouth-Waterloo, 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 16.52 Waterloo-Reading and 18.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 14.48 Poole-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 15.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.00 / 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo, 16.27 Windsor-Waterloo, and 16.27 Alton-Waterloo all 12 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole formed of old Mark I coaches; 10 minutes' delay at Vauxhall due to duff train in front. 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 8 coaches. 17..28 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 18.39 Reading-Brighton 16 minutes late. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 31 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 24 minutes late; 7 stops omitted with passengers thrown off / left waiting. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 24 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 34 minutes late; all intermediate stops omitted for operational convenience. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late.

28/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo made an additional stop at platform 2 at Woking; nobody to board but large numbers standing on platform 1, which is also served by London trains. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo 7 minutes late. 07.17 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 17.03 Weybridge-Waterloo and 17.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 19 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 18..08 Waterloo-Haslemere reduced to 8 coaches. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth delayed behind duff train in Earlsfield area; 25 minutes late at Southampton where keenness to split the units led to the doors being closed on alighting passengers; Poole portion then lost a further 5 minutes due to uncoupling problems. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 18.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 5 coaches and 26 minutes late. 18.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 60 minutes late. 18.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 53 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 14 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 31 minutes late. 19.07 Waterloo-Reading 25 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 35 minutes late.. 19.15 Woking-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 19.17 Guildford-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.19 Dorking-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 31 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 17 minutes late. 19.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 18 minutes late.

29/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 20 minutes late; mainly due to huge delay at Woking where guard eventually announced that this was an additional stop but nobody had told him so he had not unlocked the doors. Scores of passengers boarded, and the guard then announced that he was sorry for the delay and did not know why the extra stop had been arranged. Consequent anger among some Woking passengers. One Walton-on-Thames commuter who had been told to travel via Woking stated that passengers had been promised that two other trains would stop for them but both sailed past. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo delayed behind and 20 minutes late. 06.19 Poole-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 15 minutes late; omitted all stations except Bournemouth and Southampton Central. 16.03 Waterloo-Shepperton 21 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 16.37 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow and 18.19 Waterloo-Shepperton all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all stops before Surbiton. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 17.03 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches and departed 20 minutes late; no explanation whatever of the delay; short formation blamed on an inward service failing at Southampton; inhuman overcrowding. 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 18.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 58 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 27 minutes late. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 19.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late; stops at Surbiton and Clapham Junction omitted for operational convenience. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 37 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 20.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to no crew. 20.42 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late.

30/1/04 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 07..12 Waterloo-Brighton cancelled due to no stock. 07.22 Farnham-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 07.25 Alton-Waterloo and 07.30 Woking-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches. 08.05 Portsmouth-Reading axed between Portsmouth and Cosham. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late due to no crew. 14.25 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton and 18 minutes late, due to duff stock. 14.48 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to duff stock. 15.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth terminated at Basingstoke. 15.16 Basingstoke-Brighton 21 minutes late. 15.44 Exeter-Waterloo cancelled. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 17.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late.17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge reduced to 4 coaches. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke terminated at Havant. 18.14 Windsor-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 8 coaches. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Bournemouth. 23.55 Waterloo-Bournemouth terminated at Southampton.

31/1/04 Chaos in Southampton area due to an early morning fatality at St Denys. 16.05 Reading-Brighton 17 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late. 17.02 Exeter-Southampton 17 minutes late. 17.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke 30 minutes late. 17.22 Waterloo-Reading and 17.48 Poole-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 17.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 31 minutes late. 17.35 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late. 18.00 Waterloo-Poole 31 minutes late. 18.07 Shepperton-Waterloo axed between Shepperton and Fulwell. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth and 18.33 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 18.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 18 minutes late. 19.18 Epsom-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Honiton 15 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops after Surbiton. 20.56 Waterloo-Reading, 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor and 21.45 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled due to no crew.

1/2/04 09.55 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton due to duff stock. 11.30 Exeter-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 15.03 Waterloo-Exeter reduced to 3 coaches. 15.10 St Austell-Chichester 27 minutes late.. 16.52 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.02 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no conductor. 19.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 20.00 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth terminated at Fratton.. 20.30 Exeter-Waterloo reduced to 3 coaches.

2/2/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo held outside Northam depot for empty Desiro train to run ahead; then joined long queue of delayed trains in Vauxhall area caused by 'debris on the track', presumably from Network Rail's weekend engineering works; arrived at Waterloo, 23 minutes late, at 08.26 to form the 08.30 to Weymouth. The following 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo delayed by 20 minutes. Afternoon delays on the Windsor lines for about 3 hours due to a fatality at Barnes. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late.. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo and 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 6 minutes late. Big evening delays due to a train failure. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 25 minutes late. 19.09 Waterloo-Guildford 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 30 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 29 minutes late; omitted all stops between Richmond and Vauxhall. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 11 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Alton 18 minutes late. 20.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Southampton 19 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 20.50 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late; 21.00 19 minutes late.

3/2/04 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 19 minutes late. 14.45 Waterloo-Southampton 14 minutes late; huge delays because connection with the service for stations to Poole not honoured. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 17.07 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 17.26 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 17.39 Waterloo-Farnham cancelled due to duff stock. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.50 Plymouth-Salisbury 18 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 20.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke 16 minutes late; 21.42 axed between Waterloo and Woking. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 51 minutes late and passengers thrown off at Woking; 20.31 34 minutes late; 20.53 16 minutes late; 21.24 19 minutes late.

4/2/04 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.18 Waterloo-Alton cancelled. 17.22 Waterloo-Chessington 34 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke 27 minutes late. 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late. 17.26 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.34 Woking-Waterloo 28 minutes late and omitted all stations to Surbiton. 17.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 18.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 18.34 Alton-Waterloo cancelled. Stock for 18.50 to Poole arrived at Waterloo at 18.50 and departed at 19.00. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 25 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Basingstoke. 21.24 Reading-Southampton axed between Reading and Basingstoke.

5/2/04 05.53 Wimbledon-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 07.19 Aldershot-Waterloo cancelled. 07.56 Alton-Waterloo started from Farnham; 07..53 Reading-Waterloo started from Wokingham. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 11 minutes late.16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 17.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 17.39 Waterloo-Farnham 15 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 18..42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 20.53 Alton-Waterloo started from Farnham.

6/2/04 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to no carriages. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow, 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton and 18.39 Waterloo-Woking all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late; 16.27 10 minutes late; 19.05 15 minutes late; 19.32 16 minutes late. 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late; 20.00 18 minutes late; 21.20 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 44 minutes late; 20.30 25 minutes late. 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke due to duff stock. 20.49 Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late.

7/2/04 Cancellations: 17.30 Southampton-Waterloo; 20.12, 20.42 (no crew) and 23.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 20.17 Waterloo-Staines; 19.26 (no crew), 19.56 (no crew), 20.56 and 22.56 Waterloo-Reading; 21.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 21.15 and 22.15 Waterloo-Epsom; 21.18 Waterloo-Guildford; 21.43 and 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo; 22.00 Guildford-Waterloo; 21.24 and 22.24 Reading-Waterloo; 22.30 Weybridge-Staines; 22.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth; 22.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 23.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 23.03 Epsom-Waterloo; 23.03 Waterloo-Shepperton; 23.25 Totton-Romsey; 23.30 Waterloo-Southampton; 23.48 Waterloo-Staines. 08.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 15.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late due to no crew. 16.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 13 minutes late. 19.10 Romsey-Totton 12 minutes late. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 19.41 Poole-Waterloo (no crew) and 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Bournemouth. 22.14 Romsey-Totton terminated at Southampton..

8/2/04 01.45 Waterloo-Twickenham cancelled. 12.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 14.41 Clapham Junction-Reading cancelled. 15.00 Reading-Clapham Junction axed between Reading and Bracknell; 16.00 cancelled. 15.22 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 19 minutes late; 18.30 10 minutes late. 17.21 Clapham Junction-Windsor cancelled. 17.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 31 minutes late due to duff stock. 18.03 Waterloo-Yeovil 18 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 18.25 Windsor-Clapham Junction cancelled. 18.30 and 19.30 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 18.47 Southampton-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 19.05 Yeovil-Waterloo omitted all booked stops and ran non-stop to Wimbledon where it terminated, due to duff stock. 19.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.26 Clapham Junction-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 40 minutes late. 20.28, 21.28 and 22.28 Guildford-Ascot cancelled. 21.03 Waterloo-Exeter terminated at Honiton. 21.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 27 minutes late due to broken down train. 21.29 and 22.29 Ascot-Guildford cancelled. 21.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 21.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late and did not serve Portsmouth Harbour.

9/2/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo had difficulties accelerating and 5 minutes late at Eastleigh. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo therefore lost its slot and 18 minutes late. Cancellations: 16.52 / 19.56 Waterloo-Reading; 17.07 Shepperton-Waterloo; 17.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 20.24 / 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford; 16.58 / 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 16.42 / 18.24 / 21.24 Reading-Waterloo; 16.27 / 17.56 / 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo. 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.45 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill and 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom reduced to 4 coaches. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo and 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.37 Waterloo-Basingstoke 18 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 30 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Stock for 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington not expected until 18.02. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 14 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth axed between Waterloo and Bournemouth; 20.30 10 minutes late. 21.11 Windsor-Waterloo 16 minutes late.. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham.

10/2/04 Cancelled: 17.17 Southampton-Eastleigh (no stock); 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo; 17.26 Reading-Waterloo; 19.17 Waterloo-Woking (no stock); 19.51 Weybridge-Waterloo; 19.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 20.38 Chessington-Waterloo; 21.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth started from Woking due to duff stock. 18.15 and 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow; 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere; 18.09 Waterloo-Woking; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 19.16 Windsor-Waterloo 22 minutes Late due to duff stock. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 40 minutes late; 20.20 12 minutes late. 20.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late and diverted via Eastleigh; 20.47 48 minutes late and diverted via Eastleigh. 21..20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late.

11/2/04 Most main line arrivals at Waterloo 5-10 minutes late in the morning peak. 06.50 Alton-Waterloo 40 minutes late. Cancelled: 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 16.58 Waterloo-Windsor; 17.03 Weybridge-Waterloo; 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 17.56 Windsor-Waterloo; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton; 18..36 Guildford-Waterloo; 18.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 19.56 Waterloo-Reading; 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 21.24 Reading-Waterloo.14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 33 minutes late. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 37 minutes late. 14.48 Poole-Waterloo 52 minutes late. 15.55 Southampton-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 17.05 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton reduced to 4 coaches. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 35 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 16 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 13 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 25 minutes late.

12/2/04 05.39 Yeovil-Waterloo, 05.42 Poole-Waterloo and 07..10 Haslemere-Waterloo all 10-15 minutes late. Cancelled: 16.48 Waterloo-Dorking; 17.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth (duff stock); 17.26 Reading-Waterloo (no stock); 17.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 19.26 Waterloo-Reading; 20.54 Reading-Waterloo. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 22 minutes late. Reduced to 4 coaches: 17.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 17.26 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.52 Waterloo-Reading; 17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole formed of slam-door outer suburban stock - 7 minutes late by East5leigh and heating failed.

13/2/04 Cancellations: 06.34 Southampton-Romsey; 06.48 Southampton-Eastleigh; 14.54/15.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 15.37 Shepperton-Waterloo; 15.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 16.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo; 16..47 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton; 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo. 08.07/18.22 Waterloo-Reading and 17.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 15.12 Reading-Waterloo 21 minutes late and passengers for intermediate stations between Staines and Waterloo thrown off as stops omitted for operational convenience. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant reduced to 8 coaches.. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 24 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 21.24 Reading-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

14/2/04 Cancellations: 08.38 / 11.08 / 18.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 12.45 / 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth; 15.28 Waterloo-Windsor; 15.49 / 19..49 / 21.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 16.27 / 16.55 / 19.27 / 22.45 Windsor-Waterloo; 17.07 / 18.07 Waterloo-Weybridge; 17.40 Haslemere-Waterloo; 18.00 Waterloo-Poole; 18.15 / 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking; 18.28 / 21.42 / 22.12 / 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor; 18.33 / 19.30 Weybridge-Waterloo; 18.52 / 19.56 / 20.56 / 21..26 Waterloo-Reading; 20.24 / 21.24 / 22.24 / 22.54 Reading-Waterloo; 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford; 21.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 21..30 Waterloo-Poole; 21.45 Waterloo-Bournemouth. 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo; 22..00 Guildford-Waterloo; 23.15 Windsor-Staines; 23.48 Waterloo-Staines. 08.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 14.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 16.48 Poole-Waterloo started from Bournemouth. 16.48 and 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Southampton Central. 18.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 22.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Southampton.

15/2/04 09.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 10.03 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late. 11.00 Salisbury-Brighton terminated at Southampton. 11.03 Waterloo-Plymouth terminated at Exeter. 11.52 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.00 Romsey-Totton cancelled. 12.03 Waterloo-Salisbury 15 minutes late (no stock). 12.55 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton. 13.10 Brighton-Reading terminated at Basingstoke. 13.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 14.10 Brighton-Salisbury axed between Brighton and Southampton. 14.55 Totton-Romsey terminated at Southampton. 14.55 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled. 15.12 Waterloo-Windsor cancelled (no conductor). 15.53 Romsey-Totton started from Southampton. 15.56 Reading-Brighton started from Basingstoke. 17.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled (no conductor). 19.25 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 20.00 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Bracknell. 20.25 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled. 20.29 Ascot-Guildford cancelled.