South Western Railway strike to hit New Year's Eve trains

Staff reporter(wp/bbc):

Passengers on some of the country's busiest rail routes face disruption on New Year's Eve as workers stage a day of strike action in a long-running dispute over guards on trains.

Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) workers on South Western Railway (SWR) walked out at midnight.

The RMT claimed SWR will be "bailed out" by the government for revenue lost as a result of the strike action

The rail operator said it would run a reduced service across the network.

The 24-hour strike will affect services across the south of England, including London Waterloo, the capital's busiest station.

Some rail replacement bus services will be in place and SWR said it would "do everything we can to keep customers moving and reduce disruption".

"The RMT continues to play politics with their ongoing strike action, causing misery at a time when people just want to be with friends and family or get to work," it added.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Official parliamentary answers have shown that the government is preparing to bail out South Western Railway for revenues lost as a result of strike action.

"Passengers will be outraged to know that instead of taking steps to resolve this dispute rail ministers are instead prolonging it by using tax payers' money to prop up South Western Railway on strike days."

Which services are affected?

• Basingstoke to London Waterloo: Reduced service with one train an hour running in each direction
• Salisbury to London Waterloo: An hourly reduced service will run
• Guildford to Ascot: A bus service will be in operation
• Portsmouth to London Waterloo: Due to planned engineering works there will be a reduced service and rail replacement services between Woking, Guildford and Haslemere
• Portsmouth to Southampton: Trains will run between Southampton Central and Fareham, with one service every two hours
• London Waterloo to Reading: Two trains an hour will run between Clapham Junction and Reading
• London Waterloo to Weymouth: Hourly trains will run between Waterloo and Bournemouth, with a shuttle service between Bournemouth and Weymouth
• Salisbury to Romsey via Southampton: No services

More information is available on the South Western Railway website.