South Western Railway offers free travel to Armed Forces personnel and veterans for Remembrance Sunday

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 06:00

South Western Railway is once again offering serving military personnel and veterans attending any local Remembrance Sunday events on Sunday 10 November the opportunity to travel for free on all its services.

This includes travel to Waterloo for the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph on either Saturday 9 or Sunday 10 November, returning on Sunday 10 November. The Submariners’ Remembrance Service on Sunday 3 November is also included in the offer, with travel to Waterloo allowed on either Saturday 2 or Sunday 3 November, returning on Sunday 3 November.

The offer of free travel, which is funded by the Department for Transport, is available to anyone who is travelling in uniform or able to show an appropriate form of identification and is applicable throughout Great Britain.

SWR is also happy to support volunteers collecting for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, with free travel to and from the capital to attend London Poppy Day events on Thursday 31 October. Anyone with a Royal British Legion collector’s ID can travel for free on SWR services to Waterloo on Wednesday 30 or Thursday 31 October, returning on the Thursday or Friday 1 November.

Customers should note that there will be engineering works taking place at various locations on the SWR network in South West London, Surrey, and Hampshire on Sunday 3 and Sunday 10 November.

Customers planning to travel on these days should check journey planners carefully before travelling. Other operators will also be affected, so journeys should be checked using National Rail Enquiries here.

Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director for South Western Railway, said: “Remembrance Sunday is an important opportunity for people across the country to reflect on the sacrifices made by generations of service personnel.

“Alongside the rest of the railway industry, we are pleased to honour this sacrifice by offering free travel to active personnel and veterans attending Remembrance Sunday and London Poppy Day events.

“This initiative is especially meaningful to us, as many of our SWR colleagues have a proud background in the armed forces.”

SWR has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, holds the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award, and is has an active Armed Forces Network of colleagues who have served.