A NEW round of train strikes will be held on Thursday, March 16, and Saturday, March 18, and South Western Railway is urging passengers to stay away if possible.
While Network Rail has paused strike actions, members of the RMT union are going ahead with theirs, meaning only a limited number of services will be running. And there will be disruption on Friday, March 17 too, with services starting later.
To add to the problems, there will be engineering work on Saturday, March 18, affecting the route between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside. Trains will terminate at Hounslow instead. Rail replacement bus services will not run.
The company operates the line between Reading and London Waterloo, and includes stops at Earley, Winnersh, Wokingham and Bracknell on its way to the capital.
But with 40% of the overall workforce eligible to strike, including guards, dispatchers and depot shunters, SWR’s contingency managers will only be able to cover a limited number of services between 7am and 6.30pm, on both Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 March. On Friday 17 services will also start later than usual, at around 7am.
South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, Stuart Meek, said: “I’m afraid I have to once again urge our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Thursday, March 16, and Saturday, March 18. If you do have to travel, please check your entire journey as long-planned engineering works will affect services on the Saturday.
“While we are pleased to be able to provide additional services for Guildford and Salisbury during this round of strikes, we’re sorry that large parts of our network will still be closed.
“Our contingency managers are stepping in to provide the best service we can, and we thank our customers for their ongoing patience.”
The RMT is striking over pay and conditions.
Which services will be running
On Thursday 16 March, the following services will run from 7am to 6.30pm:
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Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central
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Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
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Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke
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Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside
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One train per hour in each direction between Guildford and Woking
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One train per hour in each direction between Salisbury and Basingstoke
On Saturday 18 March, the following services will run between 0700 and 1830:
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Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Hounslow
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Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
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One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Southampton Central
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One train per hour in each direction between Woking and Guildford
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One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Salisbury
Trains will not stop at all the stations on strike days.
Check www.southwesternrailway.com/strike for all strike information.
