Like most of the UK, Dorset is expected to be affected by rail strikes early October as thousands of workers are about to leave various train operators.
As of this writing, rail strikes are scheduled for Saturday October 1, Wednesday October 5 and Saturday October 8.
This will affect services for South Western Railway (SWR) and Great Western Railway (GWR) which operate in Dorset.
Rail operators inform customers who use the railway network on strike days to carry out regular checks before their departure.
Here’s all the information you need to find out how Dorset’s footpath services will be affected by these October strikes.
Why do railway strikes happen?
Strikes have taken place in recent months due to a long-running dispute between the Railway, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firefighters (Aslef) with the government about wages and working conditions.
Last August, the RMT said it was going on strike over a ‘below inflation wage offer’ and negotiations with the government failing to produce ‘a settlement(s) satisfactory”.
Aslef is striking for the same reason, and it is likely that more strikes will be staged later in 2022 if a deal continues to fall out of reach.
How will SWR and GWR be affected by the October rail strikes?
TOS will lead a reduced hours October 1 from 7:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. with fewer trains which will be much busier than usual.
This will include:
- Two medium-speed trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke
- Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking
- Two fast trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central
TOS the workers will not take part in the strike on October 5 and he will “publish information on the service that we hope to be able to operate” for October 8.
🚨 Announcement of service levels for the Saturday October 1 strike:
Travel only when absolutely necessary on October 1 and 2.
Please see below for a summary of services and strike day map.
We are sorry for the disruption this strike action will cause. pic.twitter.com/WEEyjnsNqj
— SWR Help (@SW_Help) September 23, 2022
Meanwhile, an “extremely limited” service will be provided by GWR on all strike days, which will start at 7.30am and end at 6.30pm.
The Gloucester to Weymouth route is the only one that enters Dorset and will not operate on October 1.
Meanwhile, the Gloucester route is operating on October 5 but will stop at Bristol Temple Meads and will not continue into Dorset.
On October 8, GWR states on its website: “The full impact of how rail services may be affected by this industrial action is currently being assessed.”
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