Commuters face four days without trains to or from Weymouth from today as a result of strike action.

South Western Railway has announced its timetables for the upcoming strike action announced by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT).

Between 07.15 to 18.30 on Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14, Friday 16, and Saturday 17 December there will be no services between Weymouth and London Waterloo with the nearest service running from Southampton Central.

More than 2,100 SWR members of the union will join the strike action across these days.

On Thursday, December 15 and Sunday, December 18, the knock-on impact of the strike days means first trains will start much later than usual across the network and are likely to be very busy – customers are asked to avoid these if they can. 

In addition, the RMT has announced that its members at SWR and other Train Operating Companies have been instructed not to book on for any overtime from Sunday 18 December to Monday 2 January. 

SWR will update customers once it has confirmed what service levels it can provide during this period from Sunday, December 18 to Monday, January 2.

Great Western Railway has also announced their service levels with no trains to or from Weymouth on strike dates and only ‘occasional’ services extending to Weymouth on Thursday, December 15.

South Western Railway’s Performance and Planning Director, Steve Tyler, said:  “We appreciate that customers will be eager to enjoy the festive season, so we’re really sorry that we must urge them to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary from Tuesday 13 December to Sunday 18 December. 

“The nationwide strike action means we can only operate a severely reduced timetable from 07.15 to 18.30 only, with much of the network closed entirely. 

“The strike period will be followed by two weeks of further disruption on the network, as the RMT has instructed their members not to book any overtime until 2 January.  

“After months of damaging strike action, we are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this dispute to an end.”