South Western Railway Christmas 2018 strikes – which SWR trains are running during the festive holiday?
The walkout is the latest in a series of strikes called by the RMT union
WORKERS on South Western Railway are on strike in a long-running dispute over guards on trains.
The company, which has been hit by a series of delays in recent weeks because of signal and train failures, runs services into London Waterloo - the busiest station in the UK.
South Western Railway Christmas 2018 strikes – which SWR trains are running during the festive holiday?
Guards and train drivers were due to walk out for 24 hours starting at one minute past midnight on Saturday December 22.
Drivers and rail workers have now gone ahead with two days of strike action starting on December 27. The second day will be December 31.
The strike is part of a long running dispute and when there have been previous Saturday walkouts, SWR said around half of its services have run.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said SWR “continues to refuse to resolving this dispute, which is about safety, security and access”.
"Recent figures have shown a shocking a surge in violence on our railways,” he said.
“It is frankly appalling that South Western Railway are looking for a green light to throw the guard off their trains as and when they see fit in the name of profit.”
A South Western Railway accused the RMT union of ensuring “maximum misery is inflicted at what should be a time of relaxation and enjoyment".
The operator said the strike was “unnecessary” and accused the union of “scaremongering” pointing out that crime has actually fallen on the network.
Meanwhile, RMT members on Arriva Rail North are striking for 24 hours on every Saturday for the rest of the year in the same dispute.
ARN (Northern) said few services will run after 5pm on Saturday and warned that its trains will be "extremely busy".
What other disruption will there be on the railway over Christmas?
Disruption will spread across the festive period, with major engineering works being carried out from December 22 to January 2.
Crossrail works at London Paddington station are likely to cause the most disruption, with reduced services until December 31.
London Euston will see some lines that were closed reopened after closing on December 25 and 26. However, not all lines are opened and many services are reduced until December 30.
No Heathrow Express service will operate on December 30 and there will be a reduced service on December 27, 28, 29 and 31.
There will be reduced services from Liverpool Lime Street until January 1.
National Rail have not yet able to say how other dates will be affected.
SWR services affected by December 27 and 31 strike action
- Basingstoke to London Waterloo: Reduced service with one train an hour running in each direction
- Salisbury to London Waterloo: An hourly reduced service will run
- Guildford to Ascot: A bus service will be in operation
- Portsmouth to London Waterloo: Due to planned engineering works there will be a reduced service and rail replacement services between Woking, Guildford and Haslemere
- Portsmouth to Southampton: Trains will run between Southampton Central and Fareham, with one service every two hours
- London Waterloo to Reading: Two trains an hour will run between Clapham Junction and Reading
- London Waterloo to Weymouth: Hourly trains will run between Waterloo and Bournemouth, with a shuttle service between Bournemouth and Weymouth
- Salisbury to Romsey via Southampton: No services
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On the Gatwick Express, there will either be no services running until January 2.
Alternative services are recommended from Southern and Thameslink services between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport.
Blackpool, Leicester, Nottingham and Warrington will also be among other stations affected.
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