Train times 'radically' changed

A rail company says it has "radically changed" its train times for the first time in 40 years because the network is heavily congested.

South West Trains (SWT), which runs local and long distance services into Waterloo station, London, has rescheduled more than 1,500 services.

The changes, which start in December, mean trains will stop at more stations with more peak-time services.

A spokesman for SWT said every train on every route has been rescheduled.

'Travel patterns changed'

"We decided the only useful way forward was to start from a blank sheet of paper and design the train service which we believe gives the best possible service to the greatest number of passengers," he said.

"Our current timetable is nearly 40-years-old and since it was introduced, populations and travel patterns have changed.

"We have gone back to the drawing board and rescheduled every train on every route."

The timetable has taken two years to put together and follows a £1bn investment in 145 new trains.

SWT, owned by transport firm Stagecoach, handles 1,700 services and 400,000 passenger journeys a day.