South West Trains is planning to rip out 18 seats per carriage to make more standing room and "perches" in a bid to ease overcrowding.

The company, which recently won another 10-year lease on the south western rail system by promising to increase capacity by a fifth, said it cannot run any more trains or add extra carriages without longer platforms.

It added that it is already running as many trains as possible on suburban rail lines, and although extra trains had been ordered for mainline services - which would stop at Surbiton - there are tight controls on how many trains funnel into Waterloo.

A spokesman for South West Trains, which runs services from Waterloo out to Kingston, Surbiton, Esher and Weybridge, said the increased standing room would mean everyone has extra space.

There would be some perch seats and more "grab rails".

She said: "We now have 50 per cent more passengers and more and more people are having to stand.

"A more comfortable way to travel s to have extra room.

"The ideal answer would be to put an extra carriage on.

"We only wish we could extend platforms at every station."

She added that some of 455 trains which run through Kingston had already been modified, with more disabled and standing space, and had had a good reaction from travellers.

The news was not popular among long-suffering commuters.

Linda Wood, who commutes from New Malden to Vauxhall said: "I don't like the idea of taking seats out.

"I wish it SWT would increase the number of carriages or put on more trains.

"I don't mind standing up, but it could be a problem for older people, and I don't want to have to stand every day.

"I thought we were getting more money to spend on transport in our area because of the Olympics but it doesn't look like that is going to happen."

Tom Ives, who commutes from Surbiton to New Malden, said: "The idea is ridiculous.

"They should be putting more carriages on each train instead of taking out the seats."

A short platform at New Malden means trains longer than eight carriages could not stop there but Surbiton can take longer trains.

Tony Adams, of Kingston Area Travellers' Association suggested that South West Trains run eight-carriage trains on all its services, rather than cramped four-carriage trains outside rush hour.

Kingston and Surbiton MP Edward Davey said South West Trains had little choice until extra platforms become available at Waterloo station, after the Eurostar trains move to Kings Cross in April.

He said: "No one should imagine there is a quick fix solution.

"We need to win the battle for Waterloo to get the Eurostar platforms for South West Train services, and to get the investment so these platforms can be used and services extended."

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