"ONLY travel by rail if absolutely necessary" is the message from South Western Railway (SWR) ahead of a national train strike.

The train strikes will begin on Saturday, November 5, Guy Fawkes Night until Thursday, November 10.

During this period severe disruption is expected, hence the stark warning from the service.

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.

On 5 and 9 November, more than 2,100 SWR members of the RMT union will join the strike action. On 9 November only, SWR members of the TSSA union will also strike.

“I’m sorry that due to strike action we must urge our customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary from Saturday 5 to Thursday, November 10. 

“Large parts of our network will be closed on strike days and there will be a late start-up on the morning after. Those who must travel are urged to carefully check the times of the first and last trains and avoid them if possible.

“We appreciate that customers will be eager to enjoy the fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night, but the last trains for the day will depart early at around 1700 and will be very busy. Please check train times carefully to avoid getting stranded as the network will be shut for the rest of the evening.

“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 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.

Days between and after strike days will also be significantly impacted by the strike first trains across the network will start much later than usual and are likely to be very busy

For the latest updates regarding trains and the strikes visit the SWR website at https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/industrial-action