Customers of South Western Railway are set to see extreme disruption on its network due to strike action being carried out by the RMT union from the 5th to the 10th of November. The rail operator is advising customers to use alternative transport methods if they must travel during the industrial action.

Taking place on Saturday the 5th of November, the strike action coincides with Guy Fawkes Night and will see the last trains for the day departing at 17:00. The rail operator is urging customers not to get stranded and to check other transport methods available for getting home.

South Western Railway has already released its strike day service levels for Saturday the 5th, Monday the 7th and Wednesday the 9th of November, all of which will see a substantially reduced service on the routes which Network Rail has been able to make available.

The rail operator’s network will see significant parts entirely closed during the strike action and for those trains which are running will see less regular service than usual and are anticipated to be extremely busy.

Network Rail staff members will be striking on the 5th, 7th and 9th of November which will create substantial restrictions on the infrastructure available which in turn will create severe disruption. The 5th and 9th of November will also see over 2,100 South Western Railway members of the RMT take part in industrial action. The 9th of November will also see South Western Railway members of the union TSSA join the strike action.

Thursday the 10th of November will see further separate disputes as RMT members on London Overground and London Underground take part in the industrial action which will lead to some connections to South Western Railway services being disrupted or not being able to run.

Contingency cover for vital roles such as electrical control room operators, signallers, maintenance and response teams will be provided by Network Rail, however, they will not be able to provide cover for the entire day.

South Western Railway’s reduced timetable will see services operate from 07.15 to 18.30 only for Saturday the 5th, Monday the 7th and Wednesday the 9th of November and will be made up as follows:

• Four trains each hour in both directions between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside
• Two semi-fast trains each hour in both directions between London Waterloo and Basingstoke
• Four trains each hour in both directions between London Waterloo and Woking
• Two fast trains each hour in both directions between London Waterloo and Southampton Central
• Please note that trains will not stop at all stations on these routes.
• There will be no South Western Rail services across the rest of the network.

The Island Line will run its normal daytime timetable where possible during the strike action, however, services could be impacted by strike action on the mainland. The Island Line will be suspended overnight from 19.00 to 07.00 from Monday the 7th to Tuesday the 8th of November. The suspension in service overnight is due to Network Rail’s Electrical Control Room Operators who work at Eastleigh Electrical Control Room and provides power to the Island line taking part in strike action. Due to this, Network Rail cannot power the Island Line through the night on Monday the 7th of November.

South Western Railway’s Performance and Planning Director, Steve Tyler, said: “I’m sorry that due to strike action we must urge our customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary from Saturday 5 to Thursday 10 November.

“Large parts of our network will be closed on strike days and there will be a late start-up on the morning after. Those who must travel are urged to carefully check the times of first and last trains and avoid them if possible.

“We appreciate that customers will be eager to enjoy the fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night, but last trains for the day will depart early at around 1700 and will be very busy. Please check train times carefully to avoid getting stranded as the network will be shut for the rest of the evening.

“We are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging nationwide strike action to an end.”

Customers are advised to check the South Western Railway website for the most up-to-date information.