Because of industrial action by the ASLEF union, services on South Western Railway (SWR) next week, Monday, 7th to Saturday, 12th August will be severely disrupted.

The union is imposing a ban on overtime working, which will result in the company implementing a reduced timetable similar to the one operating this week from last Monday, 31st July to next Saturday, 5th August.

Although normal services will resume on Sunday, 6th August, because of engineering work buses will replace trains between Barnes and Feltham via Hounslow. Also, because of industrial action on Saturday, 5th August, a small number of train services will be cancelled. Customers are advised to check before travelling.

Services on South Western Railway during the first half of August are likely to be very busy because of three major events. From Wednesday, 9th to Sunday, 13th August the Boomtown festival is being held in Winchester. On Saturday, 12th August, there is an England v Wales Summer Series rugby match at Twickenham, and the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup horse race is being held at Ascot racecourse.

With train services expected to be very busy, customers attending these events are advised to travel early. In addition, a limited number of extra services will operate from Twickenham after the England v Wales rugby match, but it is likely that there will be long queues for trains. For festivalgoers returning from the Boomtown festival on Monday, 14th August, train service will operate to a normal timetable.

On the Island Line, because of next week’s industrial action, only one train per hour will run from Monday, 7th to Saturday, 12th August.

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Customers should check before they travel next week as another overtime ban by the ASLEF union will unfortunately mean another reduced timetable. Customers heading to some of the events on our network should consider travelling earlier if they can as we expect services to be very busy.

“We have worked hard to provide additional services for the England v Wales rugby fixture at Twickenham on Saturday, however, customers should be mindful that a queuing system will be in place at Twickenham station for their return journeys and that we do expect long queues.

“We are sorry for the disruption that our customers continue to face and thank them for their patience.”