SOUTH Western Railway has announced its timetables ahead of further industrial action through January next year.
Members of the RMT and TSSA unions will be subject to overtime bans, which is expected to cause considerable disruption across rail networks.
The bans mean that extra work on overtime or rest days is not allowed for staff in a variety of rolls, including guards, station staff, and depot workers.
SWR says that its ability to operate will be significantly limited throughout the extended period of action, due to begin on Sunday, December 18, lasting until Monday, January 2.
As such, SWR will be operating on reduced or severely reduced timetables, with services running only between 7am and 10pm.
Some parts of the network may be closed throughout, while some will only see closure on specific dates.
Sunday, December 18, will see network-wide reductions, with large parts of the network closed entirely.
It will operate four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking, and two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke.
Two trains will operate per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central and one train per hour between Basingstoke and Salisbury.
On Saturday, December 24, there will be a reduced service, with much of the network closing early. Some last services from London Waterloo will leave as early as midday, with all services finished and trains taken out of service by 3pm.
On Tuesday, December 27, there will be a late start-up from around noon, followed by a reduced service.
No services will run on Christmas Day or Boxing day.
South Western Railway’s performance and planning director, Steve Tyler, said: “We are very sorry that the RMT overtime ban will severely disrupt our customers travel plans throughout the Christmas period and into the New Year.
“While not a strike, the overtime ban limits the number of trains we can get into service each day and we have had to make some difficult decisions to be able to provide a reliable and consistent service throughout the period.
“We are urging customers to check their entire journey before setting off and thank them for their patience and cooperation during this damaging industrial action by the RMT.”
Those who must travel during this period are advised to check their journeys via the SWR website’s dedicated page, available at: www.southwesternrailway.com/strike
