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More train strikes starting tomorrow

As the long simmering attempt by the government to remove train Guards/Train Managers/Conductors/Senior Conductors continues to bubble away in the background and traincrew, disabled passengers, and many long suffering other passengers attempt to defeat them and maintain things as they are, strikes have been called for tomorrow and the four following days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday - and don't expect things to be smooth on Sunday) on South Western Railway.

These are the trains from Waterloo. They go to Hampton Court Palace, one of the ways to Windsor Castle (the other is Paddington via Slough), and one of the ways to Portsmouth (the other from Victoria, but slower). They go many other places but those are the ones most likely to affect tourists.

Up to 3,000 trains will be cancelled and there will impact on other SWT SWR routes as people move their commute, and impact on nearby services from other companies, again as commuters alter their routes.

If you don't need to travel by SWT SWR during the strikes you will be much happier if you don't.

There are also network wide tube strikes planned but no dates set yet.

There will be more SWT SWR strikes over the summer (unless the government backs down) and if I see dates for them I'll post them.

Posted by
5466 posts

Old habits die hard ... SWT no longer, now SWR.

Posted by
2816 posts

So we are in London now and have train tickets already purchased for Saturday from Waterloo to Salisbury.

How do we find out whether our train is affected? And what should we do if it is?

Sigh. We were in Greece last year and there was a ferry strike the one day we needed to take one.

Posted by
10290 posts

Wow, thanks for the notice, Nigel. I hope folks who will be in the area will see the forewarning.

Is it just me, or does this sound like a particularly ”heavy” strike?

Posted by
2816 posts

Thanks for posting schedule. Our train is scheduled for 10:50 am and that time is listed in red. My interpretation is we have to find the bus station and take the bus instead. Is that correct?

Posted by
5466 posts

There is no 10:50 from Waterloo - the one in red at 10:50 is a bus from Honiton to Exeter. Looks like your booked service has been cancelled.

(Unless you mean the one that arrived at Salisbury at 10:50 leaving Waterloo at 9:20)

If it is cancelled you have the option of a full refund or traveling on another service.

Posted by
2816 posts

I see. I misread the schedule. Our train was supppsed to leave Waterloo at 10:50 am but is not listed at all.

So if we want to take a different train, do we go to counter in Waterloo station and try to exchange our tickets for different time?

Or is this a bad idea? I have never been in this situation. We could skip Salisbury and go straight to Bath on a different train line.

Posted by
5466 posts

No need to exchange tickets, just travel at a similar time. You are entitled to the Delay Repay refund, if you take this. Bound to be more crowded though.

Posted by
34005 posts

What are the alternative transportation services? Rental car, buses, and taxi?

Because it is a notified strike, unlikely to be any of the above.

Some trains will move, and for many destinations it possible to use a different route, a different operator or a different mode.