South Western Railway (SWR) has warned of "severe disruption" to its services ahead of a planned strike on Wednesday (July 27). The train operator said people should only travel if "absolutely necessary" and find alternative modes of transport if they can.
The announcement by SWR comes ahead of an RMT strike this week, which will see some 40,000 workers across Network Rail and 14 train operating companies, including more than 2,100 SWR RMT members, walking out following a pay dispute. Significant disruption is also expected on Thursday, when there will be a late-starting service.
The reduced service levels will see significant parts of the network closed entirely, SWR said, and the trains that are running will be "far less frequent" compared to normal.
READ MORE: The rail strike plans announced by every train operator
Network Rail said it would provide contingency cover for critical roles including electrical control room operators, signallers, maintenance and response teams, but would not be able to cover the whole day.
SWR’s reduced timetable will run from 7:15am to 6:30pm on Wednesday, and will consist of:
- Four trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Windsor via Hounslow;
- Two semi-fast trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Basingstoke;
- Four trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Woking;
- Two fast trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Southampton;
- Trains will not stop at all stations on these routes. There will be no SWR services across the rest of the network.
RMT has announced further strikes will be taking place on Thursday, August 18, and Saturday, August 20. SWR said it would be publishing service level information for this period "in due course".
“The scale of the planned industrial action limits the number of trains we can run and routes we can serve, resulting in the severely reduced service we are able to operate on the strike day," said SWR's managing director Claire Mann.
“We are sorry that strikes will again cause such disruption, and we are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to end this damaging nationwide strike action.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The train operating companies have put driver only operations on the table along with ransacking our members terms and conditions.
“RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone. The government need to stop their interference in this dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us.”
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