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South Western Railway has published its weekday strike timetable, providing customers with details of the services they can expect during the RMT industrial action in December.
The operator plans to run more than half of its weekday service, providing longer trains to maximise capacity and more staff trained to help keep trains running during the strike.
SWR has previously announced they will seek to keep a guard on every train in a safety critical role to help customers, meaning the action by the RMT is “unnecessary”.
While the RMT Union has informed SWR that they will not be striking on December 12th, owing to the prolonged nature of the strike, SWR said it would not be possible to provide trains and crews in the correct locations to operate a normal timetable.
As a result, there will also be an amended timetable on that day.
A South Western Railway spokesperson said: “We know this strike will make travelling more difficult and services will be busier than normal.
“We share your frustration and want you to know we’re doing everything possible to keep customers moving during this unnecessary RMT strike action.
“We plan to run more than half of our normal Monday-Friday services and will provide longer trains in order to increase capacity wherever possible.”
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (rmt) union plans to hold 27 days of strike action in December.
rmt general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “The SWR franchise is a national disgrace and the outfit responsible for it should be kicked out for repeated failures and the public sector brought in with a key objective of putting safety and accessibility first.
“This latest fiasco over the introduction of driver-controlled fleet reinforces everything that RMT has been fighting for in the dispute over the safety critical role of the guard as we prepare for a further month of industrial action.”
Source: breakingtravelnews.com
