HASLEMERE Rail Users Group has taken up its members’ concerns with South Western Railway (SWR) over poor performance.

The latest customer report summary revealed just 83.2 per cent of SWR trains met Network Rail’s ‘public performance measure’ and only 54.7 per cent of services arrived at the ‘right time’.

Rail users group secretary Martin Odell said: “To our disappointment, the survey makes grim reading, not only for the delays, but also for the delay compensation process applicable to standard and first-class passengers.

“One of our members with 12 years commuting, who caught the 6.47am from Haslemere to Waterloo on March 27, but arrived in London at 10.03am, submitted a claim for compensation which has been rejected for lack of information, although in the free form box she fully explained the journey and its problems.

“She also objected the change from season-ticket holders automatically being compensated for delays upon ticket renewal, to having to claim compensation online for each and every 15 minute-plus delay, has not been communicated to season-ticket holders.

“Her £3,972 annual season ticket had no compensation discount applied when she renewed online, but after many telephone calls she received £513 of discounts.”

An SWR spokesman said: “Performance since we took over the franchise has not been what we want or our passengers expect.

“We are working closely with our infrastructure partner Network Rail to deliver a more punctual, reliable service.

“We have introduced extra capacity by running longer trains, a process that will continue until December 2020.”