South Western Railway (SWR) has confirmed its services during national RMT and ASLEF strike action on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February.
On both days there will be no train services on the Island Line, however SWR intends to run a normal service across the rest of the network as its mainline drivers are not part of the current dispute.
Due to the impact of the major landslip at Hook however, there will continue to be a reduced service through this area as two of the four lines through this area remain out of use.
Strike action by the RMT union will affect some train drivers, whilst strike action by the ASLEF union will affect depot drivers who bring trains in and take trains out of service. However, SWR’s contingency measures enable it to plan a full service on the strike days.
Train drivers at other operators will also be affected by the strike, meaning some connections with SWR services may be affected or may not run at all. Customers are advised to check their entire journey before travelling
The impact of this strike action means there may be difficulties getting staff to where they need to be. Customers are therefore advised that short notice delays and cancellations are possible, particularly if there is disruption on the network, and to check before they travel.
Claire Mann, SWR Managing Director, said, “We’re very sorry that national strike action by the RMT and ASLEF unions means that we cannot operate any train services on the Island Line on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February.
“It has been a challenging start to the year for our mainland customers, so we’re pleased we are able to plan to run a full service on both strike days. We have worked hard to ensure we can bring enough trains into service, but we must still advise our customers to check their entire journeys before travelling.”
