SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has warned that there will be limited services on most of its network during a strike by train drivers on Friday.

The train operator has said it will run an “extremely limited service with the majority of the network closed” during a walkout by members of the ASLEF Union on Friday, September 1.

This will be followed by an ASLEF Union ban on overtime working, together with strike action by members of the RMT Union, on Saturday, September 2.

This will be the first strike action on the SWR network involving main line drivers, as previous days of ASLEF Union strike action were limited to depot drivers.

The strike action will see a reduced number of services, with one train per hour running between London Waterloo and Basingstoke on Friday, and two trains per hour on Saturday.

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On Saturday there will only be one train per hour between Salisbury and Basingstoke.

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: “This is the first time our network has been subject to full strike action by members of the ASLEF Union and, as a result, we are only able to offer an extremely limited service on Friday 1 September.

“Friday 1 September will be different to previous days of strike action with a lot fewer trains running and with the majority of the network closed. Our advice to customers is to not travel unless your journey is absolutely necessary. The few services we will be running are likely to be extremely busy and we may have to use queuing systems and crowd control measures.

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“A significantly reduced service will operate the following day, Saturday 2 September, with more lines open but with large parts of the network still closed. Trains will only run between 0700 and 1900 and so our advice, again, is to only travel if journeys are absolutely necessary.

“If customers must travel on either day, they should check their entire journey before travelling, with other operators also impacted by strike action. We're really sorry for the disruption."

For both Friday and Saturday, SWR is advising customers to only travel if their journeys are absolutely necessary.

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Journey planners are now up to date and the latest information is available at southwesternrailway.com/strike.

On Friday, September 1, trains will only run between 7am and 7pm and are as follows:

London Waterloo to Woking – 4 trains per hour (tph) peak, 2 tph off-peak

London Waterloo to Twickenham – 2tph

London Waterloo to Basingstoke – 1tph

Guildford to Woking – 1tph

There will be no service on the Island Line.

On Saturday, September 2, a significantly reduced service will operate on a limited number of lines. Large parts of the network will be closed. Trains will only run between 7am and 7pm and are as follows:

London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside via Hounslow - 2tph

Windsor & Eton Riverside to London Waterloo - 2tph

London Waterloo to Basingstoke - 2tph

London Waterloo to Southampton Central - 2tph

London Waterloo to Woking - 4tph

Salisbury to Basingstoke - 1tph

Guildford to Woking - 1tph

London Waterloo to Ascot via Twickenham - 2tph

Ascot to London Waterloo via Hounslow - 2tph

A normal service will run on the Island Line.