Bringing people together to get the most out of life

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Welcome to SWR

The SWR network stretches from the UK’s busiest station, London Waterloo, through an extensive metro and suburban network, to the south coast, across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, and as far west as Exeter.

Serving over 200 stations with more than 1,500 services each weekday, our customers are business people, key workers, school children, leisure travellers, holiday makers and others who choose rail travel.

We are committed to delivering great service for our customers and understand that our people are at the heart of everything we do. These principles are the backbone of our purpose, vision and mission, and you can find out what it’s like to be part of the team in our video: We are SWR.

Driving for a more diverse workforce

Here at SWR we are committed to closing the gender gap in the rail industry.

Only 8% of SWR’s train drivers are women, in line with the national average. We are committed to increasing representation and will open talent pools for various depots across our network over the next few months.

Hear what three of our fantastic women have to say about their own experiences, career journeys and the personal and professional benefits of the role.

Celebrating success

Our people are at the heart of everything we do; and we love to celebrate their achievements.

The highlights include our Annual Excellence awards where we recognise teams and individuals who have been nominated by their colleagues; our Sustainability Heroes event which recognises colleagues and community partners for their contribution to our sustainability goals; and regular recognition-of-service and ‘You’re a Star’ dinners!

Committed to our customers

We keep our customers at the heart of everything we do

Dedicated to safety

Always front of mind, safety is our way of life

Supportive of each other

We trust each other to deliver and work to help one another succeed

Accountable for performance

Every decision matters, we do the right thing to achieve our goals

Setting the highest standards

We want to be the best, continually seeking a better way to do things

Investors in People - Silver Award

Investors in Wellbeing - Silver Award

Investors in Apprentices - Silver Award

Inclusive Employers Standard - Silver Award Accreditation

Inclusive Employers is the leading membership organisation for prioritising inclusion in the workplace. The accreditation recognises the progress made since the launch of SWR’s first inclusion and diversity strategy in 2021. More information can be found about the Inclusive Employers Standard here.

Environmental Excellence - Green Apple Awards

The prestigious Green Apple awards have recognised the outstanding work that South Western Railway (SWR), in collaboration with its waste broker SWRnewstar, is doing to minimise its environmental impact. SWR has received a Gold award in the Environmental Excellence category, after recycling the equivalent weight of 308 double decker buses.

Valuing difference. Supporting our people. Driving change.

We recognise that the people who work for us are our greatest asset and when they feel supported and happy in work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for - our customers. We are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation and ensuring that we harness the potential of all our staff fully, whilst also attracting the best talent.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

SWR is on a journey to a better future

At SWR, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. By its very role, public transport is one of the key solutions for greener, cleaner future for the UK.

As part of our sustainability strategy; Journey to a better future, we are passionate about creating a future that’s...

Better for our planet: tackling climate change and protecting nature
Better for our places: making our stations a force for good
Better for our people: unleashing opportunities and nurturing wellbeing

Over the past year alone we have achieved Science Based Targets and set our pathway to netzero by 2040, achieved silver in investors in people for the second year, and hit the incredible milestone of 100 station adopters across our stations.

None of this is possible without the hard work, great ideas, dedication, and enthusiasm of our colleagues. Why not join us and be part of the journey?

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE or watch our 60-second video below.

Helping our people get the most out of life

At South Western Railway, we’re proud to supplement our competitive salaries and defined-contribution pension scheme with a generous package of voluntary benefits, many of which are available from the day you join us!

Travel Offers

Free and discounted rail travel for you, your spouse, and dependent children, both in the UK and abroad.
Annual allocation of reduced ‘Friends and Family’ tickets for use on SWR services.

Retail Benefits

Access to offers from high street brands and online retailers.
Cashback on some online purchases.
Leisure and holiday discounts.

Employee Assistance Programme

Free 24-hour confidential helpline.
Nutritional advice.
Financial wellbeing.
Health e-hub app.

Training and Development

Professional development programmes and sponsorship.
Internal Leadership Development.
Mentoring Programme.

Reward and Recognition

Recognition schemes including 'Thank You' cards and 'You’re a Star'.
Long-service and retirement recognition.
Annual Excellence Awards event.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing benefits including access to counselling, therapy, and in-house physiotherapy services.
Annual flu-vaccination programme.

Bringing people together

Our colleague activity groups enable our people to get together and socialise outside of work time - supported by South Western Railway. Current groups include a running club, a community choir, and a regular board-gaming group. If you have a hobby or interest you want to share, and we don’t already have a group, we’ll help you to start one!

Latest South Western Railway Vacancies

Our Latest Blog Posts

Our Commitment to the Armed Forces Community

South Western Railway is pleased to announce the launch of our new page dedicated to the Armed Forces community. The page highlights our commitment through initiatives such as signing the...

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Career transition support for service leavers

Together with Network Rail, we held a Career Transition Partnership event for service leavers on Thursday 6 November at Basingstoke ROC. The event included a Control tour, Engineering insights, presentations...

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Revenue Inspection Device training complete for Metro Guards

The final Revenue Inspection Device (RID) training course for Metro Guards was held in October, at the Basingstoke Campus, following a year-long programme. All of our Metro Guards have now...

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Join the Class 455 Farewell Tour

South Western Railway (SWR) is staging a farewell tour for its Class 455 trains on Sunday 21 December. This iconic fleet of red trains, which transport customers from the likes...

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First Trainee Driver qualifies on Arterio

As the 21st Arterio came into service on Monday 15th September, there was another notable achievement for the programme as Annabelle Marks became our first trainee driver to pass their...

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Over 300 Drivers Complete Arterio Training

The Arterio programme reached another milestone last week as the 300th Driver completed their training. This means that nearly half of our Drivers that are due to be trained have...

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