SOUTH Western Railway has announced changes to its services as a result of the planned national strike.
The strike is now confirmed to go ahead on Wednesday, July 27, with the RMT having confirmed two further strikes in mid-August.
SWR will be operating a severely reduced timetable, with significant portions of the network closed, and it is urging passengers to travel only if strictly necessary.
Customers should expect severe disruption, and are encouraged to travel by other means if possible.
On Wednesday, a reduced service will operate on some routes of the network between 7.15am-6.30pm for those who have no choice but to travel.
There will be four trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Windsor via Hounslow, and two semi-fast trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Basingstoke.
Four trains will operate per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Woking, with 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.
Services will also begin “much later than usual” on the following day, Thursday, July 28.
The service is a result of strikes conducted by the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport workers, or RMT, and will be the fourth day of strike action in five weeks.
South Western Railway’s managing director, Claire Mann, said:
“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.
“We urge customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary on Wednesday, July 27, and to check before you travel on Thursday, July 28, as we will be running a late-starting service due to the disruption of the strike the previous day.
“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.”
Rail services across the country will be affected, including Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, and GTR.
Further strikes are currently planned for Thursday, August 18, and Saturday, August 20.
Customers are urged to check the SWR website for the latest information, which can be found at: www.southwesternrailway.com
