THE boss of South West Trains put himself under the spotlight at a public meeting with around 70 Winchester commuters.

Future capacity, fares, customer services, the early closure of Winchester railway station and passenger safety were all discussed with Tim Shoveller.

The event at St Paul’s Church was organised by local MP Steve Brine.

One key talking point was passenger safety around the station, especially for women returning late at night.

At present the last member of staff leaves at 10pm, leaving many passengers feeling vulnerable as they arrive home.

One customer, Joanne Lewis, raised the issue of the poorly-lit car park and the dark access road out to Andover Road.

Station manager, Danny Maile, who also attended the meeting has agreed to work with customers to urgently address the issue.

The event raised future investment planned and its impact on capacity for currently-packed commuter services. SWT plans to spend £300m in 2014-2019 which it says will make a tangible difference to passengers.

There was widespread discussion also around the level of customer service offered to travellers, including the way information is conveyed, on-train staff, ticket offices and the condition of many train toilets.

Mr Brine said: “I arranged the event because I know from my interaction with SWT these past three years what an incredibly complex business running a railway is and I wanted to give local passengers a chance to hear about some of the investment plans in place which should see real improvements in the next few years.

“But I also wanted to give my constituents the chance to put their question directly to Tim and challenge him on some of the issues we commuters face on a daily basis.

Mr Shoveller said: “It was great to see so many of our customers in Winchester, and it was a really valuable opportunity to engage with so many passengers.

“I always welcome the chance to get first hand feedback from our customers and it was great to get some views on our services and provide people with an update on our future plans for development and improvement."