South Western Railway Slashes Timetable During Strikes
Local stations to be completely closed during industrial action
There will be a limited service on strike days. Picture: SWR
September 27, 2023
South Western Railway (SWR) has announced its revised timetable for the forthcoming industrial action by the ASLEF union.
Unlike during previous strikes no attempt is being made to maintain a service on the Hounslow Loop which means no trains will be stopping at stations such as Brentford, Chiswick, Kew Bridge, Isleworth and Syon Lane on Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October.
In addition, planned engineering works are taking place on this section of the line on Sunday 1 October which will also require the total shutdown of the Hounslow Loop and stations in the Barnes area.
Lines from Windsor and Reading will also be closed meaning that there will be no trains stopping at Putney and Wandsworth Town on Saturday 30 September. On Wednesday 4 October a limited service of two trains per hour will run during the day time from Feltham to Waterloo stopping at Putney and Wandsworth Town.
As well as the strikes the union is running an overtime band from Friday 29 September to Friday 6 October. SWR says that on these days a normal weekday timetable will operate with a small number of cancellations. Other train operating companies across London and the rest of the country are also likely to be affected by strikes on these days.
Journey planners for Friday 29 September will be up to date on Tuesday 26 September. Journey planners for Saturday 30 September are now up to date. Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 October are expected to be up to date in journey planners on Wednesday 27 September. Thursday 5 and Friday 6 October will be updated in journey planners in due course.
On Saturday 30 September trains will only run between London Waterloo and Basingstoke, Woking and Guildford via Woking. On Wednesday 4 October trains will only run between London Waterloo and Basingstoke, Feltham, Woking, Guildford via Woking and between Basingstoke and Salisbury. On both dates trains will only run between the hours of 7am to 7pm. There will be no other services outside of these times.
Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “I’m sorry to say that, due to industrial and strike action by the ASLEF union over the next two weeks, we will be forced to make changes to our timetables.
“We will run an extremely limited service on both Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October and our advice to customers is to only travel if their journeys are absolutely necessary. While we will run as many services as possible on days subject to overtime bans, our advice to customers is to check before travelling.
“On all seven dates of industrial action customers should check their entire journey before they travel as other operators will be affected. We’re very sorry for the disruption that this will cause and we’re very grateful to our customers for their continued patience.”
Strike action will also affect the London Underground on Wednesday 4 and Friday 6 October.
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