More strike action on the railways through Dorset today
South Western and Great Western services are affected
Passengers hoping to get trains through Dorset today (Thursday 18th August) will be left disappointed.
Another day of strike action's being held, affecting all South Western Railway services through our area.
Great Western Railway services are also affected, as RMT union members walk out in a row over pay.
Another strike day's planned for Saturday (20th August) and we're also warned that morning services will be affected tomorrow (Thursday 19th) and Sunday (21st August) as well, due to trains and staff being in different locations, and signal staff not starting work until later than normal.
People have already been advised by train operators to seek other means of travel for the rest of this week.
South Western Railway’s Commercial Director, Peter Williams, said:
“We know that a combination of sunny weather and school holidays make a day trip to one of the brilliant beaches on our network a tempting prospect. That’s why we’re sorry to have to ask our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary over the forthcoming strike period.
“The scale of the action will be incredibly disruptive for our customers with large parts of our network closed on strike days and a late start up on the morning after each strike day. First trains will run much later than usual and are likely to be very busy, so if you have to travel, please do so later if you can.
“We are sorry that strikes will again cause such disruption. We are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging nationwide strike action to an end."