Railway Strike Services Announced

Published on: 24 Jan, 2024
Updated on: 25 Jan, 2024

Catch it while you can – a SWR train at Guildford Railway Station.

South Western Railway (SWR) has outlined its services during the upcoming industrial action by the ASLEF union.

Strike action has been called on Tuesday, January 30 with SWR running a severely reduced service on a limited number of lines including Waterloo to Guildford. Other lines that will have a limited service are:

London Waterloo and Woking
London Waterloo and Basingstoke
London Waterloo and Feltham via Twickenham
Basingstoke and Salisbury

The rest of the network will be closed, including the Isle of Wight’s Island Line, and trains will only run between 0700 and 1900. There will be no train services outside of these times.

Customers are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary and to avoid the first and last trains of the day, which are likely to be extremely busy.

Journey planners for Tuesday, January 30 are up to date and if customers must travel, they should check their entire journey carefully, as other operators will be affected.

On Monday and Wednesday, January 29 and 31, through to Tuesday, February 6, action short of a strike will mean a ban on overtime work.

On those days services across the network will be subject to short-notice alterations and cancellations are also possible. On the Island Line, a reduced timetable will operate, with trains running once per hour.

Journey planners are now up to date through to Thursday 1 February, with updates for other days to follow.

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, said:“We’re very sorry to announce that industrial action, including full strike action, will affect our network at the end of January and into early February.

“It has been a tough start to the year due to adverse weather conditions and these damaging strikes will cause yet more disruption for our customers.

“Our advice is to only travel if absolutely necessary on Tuesday, January 30 and to check before travelling on all other affected dates. It is also vital that customers check their entire journey on all the affected dates, as other operators will be affected.

“Once again we’re very sorry for the disruption this will cause and we thank our customers for their continued patience.”

ASLEF’s general secretary Mick Whelan said earlier this month, when the strike day was announced: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.

“Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living. Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as keyworkers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.

“The government has now tried their old trick of changing the rules when they can’t win and brought in Minimum Service Levels legislation. But this new law, as we told officials during the consultation period, won’t ease industrial strife. It will likely just make it worse.

“There’s no excuse. The government and train operating companies must come to the table with a realistic offer so we can end this dispute and work together to ensure the future of our railways.”

The strike action will also affect Great Western Railway services on Monday, February 5. GWR operates the Gatwick to Reading service that stops at Guildford.