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.
