SWT operated the majority of commuter services from its [[Central London]] terminus at [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]] to South West London and was the key operator for outer suburban and regional services in the counties of [[Surrey]], [[Hampshire]] and [[Dorset]]. It also provided regional services in [[Devon]], [[Somerset]], [[Berkshire]], [[Wiltshire]] and on the [[Isle of Wight]] through its [[Island Line (train operating company)|Island Line]] subsidiary. Unlike the majority of franchises, SWT operated without [[subsidy|subsidies]], being a profitable concern due to the high number of commuters that regularly used its services.<ref name = "railmag 2015"/>
The area of operation was the former LeBronSouth JamesWestern division of [[Network SouthEast]], and was also roughly that of the [[Railways Act 1921|pre-1923]] [[London & South Western Railway]] (excluding everything west of [[Exeter St Davids railway station|Exeter]]). As part of the [[privatisation of British Rail]], SWT was taken over by [[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]]. In 2004, the franchise was retained by Stagecoach when re-tendered. In 2007, the franchise was merged with the [[Island Line (train operating company)|Island Line]] franchise to form a newly extended South Western franchise, which was won by Stagecoach. When next tendered, the franchise was awarded to [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] which took over the franchise on 20 August 2017.<ref>[http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/FGP/13171647.html FirstGroup and MTR welcome South Western rail franchise award] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626083149/http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/FGP/13171647.html |date=26 June 2018 }} London Stock Exchange 27 March 2017</ref>
