TRAIN services on South Western Railway lines will be affected by rail workers undertaking an overtime ban or striking.
Members of the ASLEF union will be working to rail from Monday, July 17, through to Wednesday, July 19, and again on Friday, July 21.
On Thursday, July 20, and Saturday, July 22, members of the RMT union will be on strike.
SWR warns services will be reduced to hourly in off-peak periods, with some trains cancelled.
A reduced service will operate between 7am and 7pm on a limited number of lines, on Thursday and Saturday, and the last trains leaving at 5pm. There are no services from Reading or Wokingham borough stations.
Customers are advised to check before travelling, and only travel if absolutely necessary.
A normal Sunday timetable will operate on Sunday, July 23, however a small number of services will be cancelled due to RMT strike action on the previous day.
Customers should check before travelling as engineering work will also take place.
More strikes are planned for Saturday, July 29, and a similar service is expected.
Stuart Meek, chief operating officer at South Western Railway, said the firm was sorry customers were due to face disruption.
“Anybody planning to travel on days affected by the ASLEF union’s industrial action should check their whole journey before they set off and be aware that services are likely to be busier than usual,” he said.
“As with the last ASLEF overtime ban, instead of making numerous short-notice amendments and cancellations to our standard timetable, we will operate an amended timetable that we have a high degree of confidence we can reliably and safely deliver. We hope this will give our customers greater certainty when planning their journeys.
“On days of strike action by the RMT union, we are sorry to ask that customers should only travel if absolutely necessary. We have worked hard to improve our service offering during RMT strike action and are pleased to confirm that we will operate services to and from Ascot on Thursday 20.”
The unions said their actions were a last resort.
ASlEF general secretary Mick Whelan said: “Train drivers don’t want to be inconveniencing the public. We want to resolve this dispute.
“We have given the government and rail operators plenty of opportunities to come to the table but it remains clear that they do not want a resolution.”
And RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This latest phase of action will show the country just how important railway staff are to the running of the rail industry.
“My team of negotiators and I are available 24/7 for talks with the train operating companies and government ministers.
“Yet quite incredibly neither party has made any attempt whatsoever to arrange any meetings or put forward a decent offer that can help us reach a negotiated solution.”
The dispute is not just about pay, but also a disagreement about how trains and stations should be staffed in future.
