Rail delays harm pupil attendance records, MP says

MP Lincoln Jopp said the 07:58 service from Sunbury to Shepperton was often delayed

Pupils are being recorded as late to school due to consistent railway delays in Surrey, according to an MP.

Lincoln Jopp told the House of Commons that schoolchildren in his Spelthorne constituency who used South Western Railway to get to school are recorded as late on attendance registers that "follow them throughout life".

The 07:58 BST service from Sunbury to Shepperton – used by "a lot" of pupils – was recently cancelled four times in six days, the Conservative MP said.

South Western Railway apologised for any disruption experienced.

Jopp asked Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander if the government would "commit to improving the reliability and punctuality of that section of the line" when it nationalises South Western Railway on 25 May.

The cabinet minister responded that the government was "determined to turn this situation around" when it takes over from current operators First Group and MTR.

She said: "We have inherited an abject mess from the train operating company, who over six years have failed to get the new fleet of Arterio 701 trains into service."

The Class 701 Arterio fleet started operating more than four years later than scheduled

South Western Railway began operating the first of its new Class 701 trains in January.

The rail operator – which runs services between London Waterloo and Hampshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, Dorset, Berkshire and Devon – said its rollout of the Arterio fleet in April was taking "longer than expected".

It ordered 90 trains costing £1bn in 2017, which were originally due in service from 2019.

"Many of the 98 stations the Arterio will serve were built more than 150 years ago, and we have a challenge interfacing the train to some of our older platforms, given their design," a spokesperson said.

"While the further delay has been frustrating, we now have a way forward that will see increasing numbers of customers enjoying increased capacity and comfort of the Arterio through the rest of 2025 and beyond."