RMT Members at Network Rail will be carrying out strike action on the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th of December and will see South Western Railway‘s services substantially limited as over 2,100 of the rail operator’s members will be taking part in the industrial action.

Rail customers are being advised of extreme disruption on the strike days and that some parts of the South Western Railway network will be completely closed. The train services which are able to operate will be far less frequent than usual and are anticipated to be very busy indeed.

The 15th and 18th of December will also feel the effect of the strike action with services starting much later than usual throughout the network as employees return to their positions. These first trains are anticipated to be extremely busy and customers are advised to avoid using these services where possible.

The rail operator will run a limited timetable from 07.15 to 18.30 on Tuesday the 13th, Wednesday the 14th, Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th 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
• Trains will not stop at all the stations on these routes.
• There will be no South Western Railway services across the rest of the network.

Further to the strike action, the RMT has also revealed that its members at South Western Railway as well as other rail operating companies have been told not to book for any overtime from Sunday the 18th of December through to Monday the 2nd of January.

The rail operator will provide up-to-date details once the service levels it can provide have been confirmed for the period of Sunday the 18th to Monday the 2nd of January.

Customers are advised to check travel plans via the South Western Railways website.

South Western Railway’s Performance and Planning Director, Steve Tyler, said: “We appreciate that customers will be eager to enjoy the festive season, so we’re really sorry that we must urge them to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary from Tuesday 13 December to Sunday 18 December.

“The nationwide strike action means we can only operate a severely reduced timetable from 07:15 to 18:30 only, with much of the network closed entirely.

“The strike period will be followed by two weeks of further disruption on the network, as the RMT has instructed their members not to book any overtime until 2 January.

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