South Western Railway (SWR) is urging customers only to travel by rail if absolutely necessary between Thursday 15 and Sunday 18 September due to the planned industrial action.  

Customers should expect severe disruption on the network and, if they must travel on any of those days, should seek to do so by other means. 

SWR has published its strike days service levels for Thursday 15 September and Saturday 17 September, which will provide a severely reduced service on the routes Network Rail has made available.  

Significant parts of the network will be closed entirely and those trains that are running will be far less frequent and much busier compared to normal. 

Unlike during previous strike days, on Saturday 17 September, trains on the Windsor Line will run two per hour and terminate early at Hounslow. This is due to planned and immovable Network Rail engineering works which, once completed, will enhance future services on this line. Four trains per hour will continue to Windsor & Eton Riverside on Thursday 15 September like on previous strike days.  

Due to the impact of the strike days, customers are also urged only to travel if absolutely necessary on Friday 16 and Sunday 18 September, when first trains will start much later than usual across the network and are likely to be very busy.  

Staff at Network Rail and more than 2,100 SWR members are set to take strike action on Thursday 15 September and Saturday 17 September, causing severe disruption.  

Network Rail will provide contingency cover for critical roles including electrical control room operators, signallers, maintenance, and response teams, but will not be able to cover the whole day. 

SWR's reduced timetable will run from 07:15 to 18:30 on the 15 and 17 September strike days, and will consist of:  

• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside via Hounslow on Thursday 15 September only 
• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Hounslow on Saturday 17 September only  
• Two semi-fast trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke 
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking 
• Two fast trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central 

Trains will not stop at all the stations on these routes. There will be no SWR services across the rest of the network. 

SWR drivers will not be involved in the planned ASLEF strike action on Thursday 15 September, but some other train companies will be, so customers who have no choice but to travel on that strike day should check all connections before they do.  

South Western Railway's Performance and Planning Director, Steve Tyler, said:  "I'm sorry that due to strike action we must urge our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 September. Those needing to travel should seek to do so by other means.  

"Large parts of our network will be closed on strike days and there will be a late start up on the morning after each strike day. Those who must travel are urged to carefully check the times of first and last trains and avoid them if possible as they are likely to be very busy. 

"We are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging nationwide strike action to an end." 

Network Rail's Southern Region Managing Director, John Halsall, said:  "I'm so sorry that our passengers are going to face even more disruption due to further strike action. Last month, we made a good offer to the RMT union and they didn't even give their members the chance to vote on it, which is incredibly disappointing. 

"We really are doing everything we can to minimise the impact and keep people moving, but even with our contingency plans, we can't run anywhere near our normal service. 

"Unfortunately that means we're again asking passengers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary between September 15th and 18th. While there's no strike action on the 16th or 18th, services will start much later than usual as our people start returning to work, so if you have no choice but to travel, please plan ahead and leave plenty of time for your journey." 

Customers are urged to check the SWR website for latest information here.