Wednesday 15 June 2022
South Western Railway is urging customers only to travel by rail if absolutely necessary on the planned strike days next week.
South
Western Railway is urging customers only to travel by rail if absolutely
necessary on the planned strike days next week: Tuesday the 21st, Thursday the 23rd
and Saturday the 25th and throughout that week.
Customers
should expect severe disruption and, if they have to travel, should seek to do
so by other means.
This
comes as SWR published their strike day timetable, which will provide a very
limited service on the routes Network Rail have made available.
The
reduced timetable will see significant parts of the network closed entirely and
those trains that are running will be far less frequent compared to
normal.
Network
Rail and more than 2,100 SWR RMT members are set to take strike action causing
severe disruption.
Network
Rail will provide contingency cover for critical roles including electrical
control room operators, signalers, maintenance and response teams, but will
not be able to cover the whole day.
SWR’s
reduced timetable will run from 07:15 to 18:30 on the three strike days, and
will consist 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.
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.
Significant
disruption is also expected on Wednesday the 22nd, Friday the 24th and Sunday the
26th when the network will not be operational before 07:30 and a Sunday level
of service will operate throughout the day.
South
Western Railway’s Managing Director, Claire Mann, said:
“The
sheer scale of this planned industrial action severely limits the number of
trains we can run and routes we can serve, which is reflected in the reduced
timetable we have published today.
“With
this disruption set to be so considerable, I regretfully urge customers to only
travel by rail if absolutely necessary between Tuesday 21 and Sunday 26
June.
“I
am sorry these strikes will cause such disruption and am grateful to our
customers for their patience and understanding as the rail industry works to
bring this damaging nationwide action to an end.”
Network
Rail route director Mark Killick said:
“We’re
so sorry for the disruption next week and we know how difficult this will be
for our customers so soon after the pandemic. We’ve trained 250 staff so we can
keep some of the busiest lines open, focussing our resources on the routes that
can keep the largest numbers of customers and freight moving and serving vital
locations such as hospitals. That said, we will not compromise on safety and
the strike does mean that large parts of the network will be closed.
“We
are continuing to work with unions to find a solution and will keep doing so.
But we also have to be honest and accept that we have to change the way we
work, to reflect the changes in society and travel patterns post pandemic.
Again, I’d like to apologise to everyone who find their journeys disrupted next
week and urge our customers to check before they travel.”
Customers are urged to check the SWR website for
latest information at www.southwesternrailway.com/strike
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 12:30 pm