23 June 2022, 14:06

South Western Railway reminder: only travel if absolutely necessary until Sunday 26 June

Strikes are taking place today and Saturday 25 June, with limited services only running between 07:15 and 18:30 and large parts of the network closed
A late-starting Sunday service (fewer trains) will run across the network on Friday 24 June and Sunday 26 June, with no trains before 07:30
Those who have no choice but to travel are urged to check times carefully via: nationalrail.co.uk

South Western Railway (SWR) is reminding customers to only travel by train if absolutely necessary for the rest of this week.

As the weekend approaches, the company has reiterated that there will be severe disruption across the network, and on strike days there will be no trains running to Portsmouth or beyond Southampton to the coast.

This comes as further nationwide RMT strikes are taking place today (23 June) and Saturday (25 June), with a severely reduced service provided only on the routes that Network Rail has made available. Large parts of the SWR network will be shut down completely.

The knock-on effects of each strike mean that a late starting Sunday level of service will run on both Friday (24 June) and Sunday (26 June), causing significant disruption.

On these two days, the first trains on the network will leave after 07:30, with first services from many stations much later. This is due to the signal and maintenance workers being unavailable until later than normal and the challenge of getting trains and people in the right place following the early shutdown on strike days.

SWR is re-issuing the travel advice after commuters had to contend with disrupted services and busy stations and trains on Wednesday 22 June; the day after the RMT’s first strike.

Customers who have to travel are able to check trains times via www.nationalrail.co.uk, but should consider avoiding travelling on the first and last trains of each day as these services are set to be very busy.

Commenting, SWR’s Managing Director, Claire Mann, said:

“We’re sorry to have to ask our customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary until Sunday 26 June as nationwide RMT strikes are causing major disruption on our network every day this week.

“We know that many people have planned to use our trains for leisure travel this weekend, but Saturday’s strike action means we will be running a very limited service.

“Customers who do travel on Saturday risk being stranded after the network shuts down at 18:30 and should double check their last trains.

“We’re sorry to those whose weekend plans will be hit and thank them for their patience and understanding”.

ENDS

Contact Information

South Western Railway Press Office
press@swrailway.com

Notes to editors

Network Rail and more than 2,100 SWR RMT members took strike action on Tuesday 21 and are set to do the same Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June, causing severe disruption. Network Rail will provide contingency cover for critical roles including electrical control room operators, signallers, maintenance and response teams, but will not be able to cover the whole day.

SWR’s reduced timetable runs from 07:15 to 18:30 on strike days (Thu 23 and Sat 25 June), and consists of:

Four trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Windsor via Hounslow
Two semi-fast trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Basingstoke
Four trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Woking
Two fast trains per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Southampton

NB - Trains will not stop at all stations on these routes.

Island Line services will not be affected by the industrial action.

There will be no SWR services across the rest of the network.

On non-strike days (Fri 24 and Sun 26 June) a late starting Sunday service will operate across all parts of our network. No trains will run before 0730 and fewer trains than usual will run through the day.

Full details of our strike coverage is available on our website at www.southwesternrailway.com/strike

A comprehensive list of FAQs can be found at: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/industrial-action/frequently-asked-questions

Timetables for strike days can be found at: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/timetables

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Operating over 1,500 services each weekday, SWR provides commuter, regional and long distance services to customers in South West London, the southern counties of England and the Isle of Wight.

As well as commuters and business travellers, SWR transports leisure travellers across the region, to many tourist and heritage sites, and the numerous major sporting and social events that take place along the route every year.

SWR provides easy and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and communities.

About DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027.

The group’s current train operating companies are: LNER, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and SWR. It has over 23,000 employees.

DFTO runs over 6,000 services a day and delivers over 450 million customer journeys across its networks every year. This accounts for 26% of total UK passenger journeys and 30% of passenger miles.