MILITARY personnel and veterans will be able to ride the train for free this Remembrance Sunday.

South Western Railway (SWR) is once again offering free travel on all its services to serving military personnel and veterans attending local Remembrance Sunday events on Sunday, November 12.

The offer, 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.

Serving personnel and veterans travelling to the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday 12 will also be able to travel on any London-bound SWR service for free on the day before the service, returning from London on the Sunday.

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, November 12.

Customers planning to travel on Sunday should check journey planners carefully before travelling.

Other operators will also be affected, so journeys should be checked using National Rail Enquiries here.

Volunteers collecting for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal were able to travel free to London Poppy Day events last Thursday, 2 November.

Armed Forces personnel, veterans and volunteers were collecting in London Waterloo station, where customers were treated to rousing musical performances by military bands.

One of the performances, by the Wiltshire Caledonian Pipes and Drums, was organised and led by SWR’s Woking Guards Manager and veteran, George Pudney.

He has been performing on London Poppy Day since 2017, with this year the first time at London Waterloo.

SWR is proud that many of its colleagues, including guards and drivers, are former members of the Armed Forces. Supporting the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance Day is a way of paying tribute to them, as well as to all current and previous generations of service personnel.

Remembrance Day: SWR gives free travel to military personnel and veterans

Peter Williams, SWR’s Customer and Commercial Director, said:

"Remembrance Sunday is a time for people across the nation to pause and reflect on the sacrifice made by so many of our servicemen and women.

"At South Western Railway we are glad that we are once again able to recognise and honour that sacrifice by offering free travel to service personnel and veterans to attend Remembrance Sunday events.

"This initiative is particularly important to us as many of our colleagues come from service backgrounds."