Legendary cricketer unveils new fleet of South Western Railway trains

A legendary England cricketer has swapped the stumps for the stations today - by announcing the launch of a £1 billion fleet of South Western Railway trains that will serve Surrey and Berkshire..

Stuart Broad announced the rollout of the rail provider's new Arterio Fleet, with one of the trains being named 'Nighthawk' after the legendary bowler.

Broad took his last two test wickets at the Oval in Vauxhall, which is one of the stations that the fleet will serve.

Highlighting its suburban network as a hub for sporting excellence, SWR also named trains the Jockey for horseracing destinations such as Ascot, Sandown and Kempton Park; the Red Rose for English rugby at Twickenham; the Ace for the Wimbledon Championships; and the Thames Racer in honour of the Boat Race.

Five Arterios are already in service, serving the routes to Windsor & Eton Riverside and Shepperton, calling at some of SWR’s busiest stations including Earlsfield, Kingston, Richmond, Twickenham and Wimbledon.

Building on those destinations, it was also confirmed that the new fleet will serve stations including Dorking, Epsom, Guildford, Hampton Court and Reading over the next six months.

South Western Railway's managing director Stuart Meek said it's money well spent.

"Our customers want news trains. This is a good investment on new, modern trains on the railway that our customers are going to enjoy.

"It's a good investment to try and get people out of cars and onto the train again and I absolutely welcome it."