SWR passengers told to "seek other means" of travel from Thursday
Rail services will be disrupted Thursday-Sunday, with no SWR trains running at all in some days
Train passengers in Dorset will have to make alternative travel arrangements AGAIN this week, as another 4-day strike action kicks in from Thursday.
There will be no South Western Railway services running in Dorset, on Thursday (18 August) and Saturday (20 August).
Morning services are also expected to be affected on Friday and Sunday (19 and 21 August).
SWR is urging customers only to travel by rail if absolutely necessary between Thursday 18 and Sunday 21 August due to the planned industrial action.
A spokesperson for the rail operator said:
"Customers should expect severe disruption on the network and, if they must travel on any of those days, should seek to do so by other means."
"Significant parts of the network will be closed entirely and those trains that are running will be far less frequent and much busier compared to normal."
"Due to the impact of the strike days, customers are also urged only to travel if absolutely necessary on Friday 19 and Sunday 21 August, when first trains will start much later than usual across the network and are likely to be very busy."
Across the network, a reduced timetable will run from 07:15 to 18:30, on the 18 and 20 August strike days, and will consist of:
Two fast trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central
Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside via Hounslow
Two semi-fast trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke
Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
We're told trains will not stop at all the stations on these routes, and there will be no SWR services across the rest of the network.
TfL Underground and Overground services will be affected by strikes all day and connections with SWR services in London are likely to be impacted, or not run at all.
South Western Railway’s Commercial Director, Peter Williams, said:
“Please only travel if absolutely necessary between Thursday 18 and Sunday 21 August as strike action will severely impact our services. Those who must travel are urged to carefully check the times of first and last trains and seek alternative means of travel.
“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 please travel later in the day if you can."
Staff at Network Rail and more than 2,100 SWR members are set to take strike action on Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August.
It follows an ongoing dispute between rail bosses and the RMT union over pay and working conditions.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Head of Communications at South Western Railway, Mark Lever, could not say if an agreement was in sight:
"The negotiations continue and they are happening on a national level with the RMT, because this is a national dispute.
"I just hope we can get to a resolution quickly that gets a good deal for our customers, a good deal for our colleagues but also a good deal for the taxpayer who essentially will fund any pay rise that comes out of those conversations."
It's reported that taxpayers awarded nationalised rail bosses a 6% pay rise while staff wages have been frozen since 2019.