A five-day South Western Railway (SWR) strike will affect routes from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 27 October; four 24-hour strikes will follow on consecutive Saturdays from 3 to 24 November.
A reduced service will run on most of the South Western Railway network on all five days. Some routes will not have a train service or a replacement bus service. Engineering works may also affect passenger journeys.
Action will apply across the network and impact journeys into London terminating at Waterloo and Richmond stations; the Island Line on the Isle of Wight will operate as normal.
When are the strikes taking place?
Strike action will take place between 12.01am on Tuesday 23 until 11.59pm on Saturday 27 October.
Which services are affected?
The following routes will be affected. Details may change at the last minute as timetables are finalised, so check the South Western Railway website for up-to-date details of services.
Exeter St Davids to Yeovil Junction has no train service, but rail replacement buses are available.
Virginia Water to Byfleet & New Haw or Walton-on-Thames has no train service, but rail replacement buses are available.
Ascot to Ash Vale has no train service, but rail replacement buses are available.
Guildford to Aldershot and Farnham to Alton has no train service, but rail replacement buses are available.
There’s no service between Shepperton and Strawberry Hill or Teddington.
There’s no service from Hampton Court or Thames Ditton.
All other routes have a reduced SWR service or other train operators running services on the line. Check the South Western Railway website for full details of which trains are running.
Can I use my ticket on other train operators?
On strike days, passengers can use their ticket on the following train operators at no extra cost:
GWR
You can use your South Western Railway ticket (including Advance tickets) on the routes below:
Bristol – Salisbury, via Warminster
Salisbury – Portsmouth Harbour/Havant, via Fareham
Yeovil Pen Mill – Salisbury via Castle Cary and Warminster.
If you're travelling from between Crewkerne and Exeter, you can use your ticket (including Advance tickets) on GWR trains between Exeter and London Paddington via Newbury.
If you hold a daily ticket between Basingstoke and London Waterloo routed “via Woking”, you can use this on GWR trains between Basingstoke and London Paddington via Reading.
CrossCountry
You can use your South Western Railway ticket (including Advance tickets) on CrossCountry train services between Bournemouth and Reading.
Southern
You can use your South Western Railway ticket (including Advance tickets) on Southern Rail train services between Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central.
Transport for London
If you have a paper Single, Return or Season ticket between rail stations on the following bus routes, you can present it to the driver of the bus for travel in either direction at no extra charge:
- Route 65: Richmond - Kew Bridge - Brentford
- Route 111: Hampton – Hampton Court – Kingston
- Route 117: Feltham - Hounslow (Town Centre) - Isleworth
- Route 190: Richmond - North Sheen - Chiswick
- Route 216: Sunbury – Hampton – Hampton Court – Kingston
- Route 235: Feltham - Islewort - Syon Lane - Brentford
- Route 237: Hounslow (Town Centre) - Isleworth - Brentford (County Court) - Kew Bridge
- Route 281: Hounslow - Twickenham - Fulwell - Teddington - Hampton Wick - Kingston - Surbiton
- Route 290: Staines – Sunbury – Fulwell – Twickenham
- Route 411: Hampton Court – Kingston
- Route E8: Hounslow - Isleworth - Brentford
- Route K2: Berrylands – Surbiton
If you use a Pay As You Go Oyster card you'll need to pay the appropriate bus fare.
Hallmark Coaches
Your ticket will be accepted on Hallmark routes 555 and 557.
Are any rail replacement bus services available?
Yes. Check the South Western Railway website for more information.
Can I get compensation for disruptions to my journey?
If you travel on a strike day and experience delays of 15 minutes or more to your journey, you are eligible to compensation. Find out more here.
If your train is cancelled or delayed and you have an off-peak, super off-peak, advance or anytime ticket and decide not to travel, SWR states that passengers will be entitled to a full refund.
Can I start my journey at a different station to that on my ticket?
If you hold a monthly or longer season ticket, SWR maintains that your ticket may be used from/to another station on the same line of route as the original ticket. This only applies to SWR services.
Why are staff striking?
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are taking industrial action over a dispute regarding the future of guards on trains.
The RMT maintains that guards are essential in ensuring passenger safety and in case of emergencies such as derailment, evacuation, fires and driver incapacity. Guards can also offer advice and assistance to passengers and help disabled passengers to embark and disembark.
In a statement published on their website, the RMT said it was “angry and frustrated that South Western Railway have failed to respond seriously to a union call for talks around the guard guarantee on their trains”.
RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash, said: “South Western Railway seem to think they can treat the union and their staff with utter contempt. They need to change that attitude, get serious and put a team in place that can talk with us with authority on the safety, security and access issues at the heart of this dispute.”
SWR said in a statement: “The RMT has again decided to needlessly disrupt our customers and colleagues with more strikes over the next two months.
“The union has cynically chosen dates with the aim of targeting hard-working commuters, families enjoying the half-term holiday and sports fans to cause as much misery as possible. We will be doing everything we can to minimise this disruption.
“Our plans mean more guards, not fewer and we have guaranteed a guard with safety critical competencies to be rostered on all of our services.
“Should the RMT proceed with these damaging strikes, we will do everything possible to provide as many services as we can.”
For more information, click here for updates on the South Western Railway website.
