Rail commuters in Wiltshire and Hampshire urged to 'only travel if absolutely necessary'
SWR will run strike day services to Salisbury for the first time
South Western Railway (SWR) is urging customers to only travel if absolutely necessary today (16 March) and Saturday 18 March due to RMT industrial action.
While Network Rail strike action has been called off, strike action by SWR (and other train operator) RMT members will still take place, severely reducing the number of services that SWR can operate.
With 40% of the overall workforce eligible to strike, including guards, dispatchers and depot shunters, SWR’s contingency managers will only be able to cover a limited number of services between 0700 and 1830 on both Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 March.
On Friday 17 services will also start later than usual, at around 0700.
On Thursday 16 March, the following services will run between 0700 and 1830:
• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside
• One train per hour in each direction between Guildford and Woking*
• One train per hour in each direction between Salisbury and Basingstoke.
On Thursday 16 March and Saturday 18 March, shuttle services will operate between Salisbury and Basingstoke through the day.
On Thursday 16 March only, the first train departing Salisbury in the morning will run through to London Waterloo.
The last train in the evening to arrive at Salisbury will run through from London Waterloo.
These through trains will not operate on Saturday 18 Match due to engineering works between Basingstoke and Woking.
Journey planners for Thursday 16 March will be up to date on Friday 10 March.
On Friday 17 March, services will start later than usual, with customers asked to check before travelling.
On Saturday 18 March, the following services will run between 0700 and 1830:
• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Hounslow
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
• One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Southampton Central
• One train per hour in each direction between Woking and Guildford*
• One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Salisbury**
Journey planners for Saturday 18 March will be up to date on Tuesday 14 March.
Trains will not stop at all the stations on strike days. A normal service will operate on the Island Line. On Sunday 19 March, a normal Sunday timetable will operate.
South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, Stuart Meek, said:
“I’m afraid I have to once again urge our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 March, and if you do have to travel, please check your entire journey as long-planned engineering works will affect services on the Saturday.
“While we are pleased to be able to provide additional services for Guildford and Salisbury during this round of strikes, we’re sorry that large parts of our network will still be closed. Our contingency managers are stepping in to provide the best service we can, and we thank our customers for their ongoing patience during these latest RMT strikes.”