I received this update today from Mark Hopwood, MD, South Western Railway:
Dear Nikki,
I wanted to write to you to update you on the steps we are taking to ensure that those customers who do need to travel with us, can do so safely.
This has included promoting the latest Government messaging on using public transport at our stations and on our trains. We’re encouraging social distancing on board our trains and at our stations by introducing stickers and vinyls to serve as a reminder of the 2m guidance. This week, we have also begun the installation of hand sanitiser machines at over 100 of our stations, so that our customers can help fight the virus before and after they travel with us.
We have also produced an animated guide providing our top 10 tips for travelling with us covering all stages of the journey, from before customers leave their homes, to arriving at our stations and travelling on board our trains. We would welcome you sharing this on your website, social media and other platforms to ensure this reaches as many of our customers as possible. You can view and share the video here.
As I’m sure you are aware, from 15 June, the wearing of face coverings on public transport will become mandatory. We are working hard to promote this message across our channels, and at stations and on trains and would also welcome your support in sharing this message.
However, the Government advice on essential journeys has not changed. So, we’re asking all our customers to consider whether their journey is really necessary. If they have no other option but to use our services, we’re encouraging them to travel at less busy times of the day.
I also wanted to update you on the current progress of refunds for our customers. We have received around 35,000 refund requests in total, and we have processed around 29,000 of them. This means, around 83 per cent of requests have been processed, with around 6,000 currently outstanding. Our teams are continuing to work hard to process these refunds, and we now expect all outstanding refunds will be completed by mid to late June.
I will of course update you as the situation develops.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Hopwood
Managing Director
South Western Railway