Andy Munns
South Western Railway (SWR) has confirmed its services during strike action by the RMT union on Saturday, 26th August.
Nationwide strike action by members of the RMT union will mean a significantly reduced service will operate on a limited number of lines.
Trains will only run between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm, with the last trains departing at around 5 pm. Customers are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary, with short notice cancellations possible.
From Salisbury, the only trains that will run will be an hourly service to Basingstoke on Saturday, 26th August. No GWR services will run through the city.
A large number of events will take place on the SWR network, including Southampton Pride; the Victorious Festival; Southampton and Brentford football fixtures; the England v Fiji rugby fixture at Twickenham; The Hundred Eliminator cricket match at the Oval; and horse racing at Windsor.
Journey planners are up to date, and customers travelling to events on the SWR network are advised to check before travelling and consider other travel arrangements if possible. Customers should also check their entire journey before travelling, as other operators will be impacted.
Due to engineering work in the Staines area, services on strike days that normally run to Ascot and Windsor & Eton Riverside will terminate at Feltham.
Island Line services will run as normal.
On Sunday, 27th September, train services will start later than usual, at around 7 am. Customers should check their journey before travelling.
On Friday, 18 August, the ASLEF union announced strike action on Friday, 1 September and an overtime ban on Saturday, 2 September. The RMT union will also take strike action on Saturday, 2nd September. Services for these dates will be announced in due course.
Stuart Meek, Chief Operating Officer at South Western Railway, commented:
“We’re sorry that customers will once again face disruption due to strike action by the RMT union.
“Once again, I must ask our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Saturday 26 August. If you do have to travel, please check your entire journey as these strikes also affect other train operators.
“A large number of events take place on Saturday, 26th August, and while some trains will be running, we expect them to be very busy. If you’re travelling to one of those events, please check before you travel and consider alternative transport if possible.
“We’re still to confirm our services for the ASLEF union strike on Friday, 1st September and the RMT union strike on Saturday, 2nd September. We will announce details for these dates as soon as we can.
“We’re thankful for our customers’ patience during these latest RMT and ASLEF union strikes.”
