South Western Railway strikes – new dates announced and compensation for December strikes

I am very disappointed that the RMT has confirmed further strike action.

These new strikes will affect services from 10:00 on Monday 9 March until 09:59 on Tuesday 10 March, and subsequently from 10:00 on Thursday 12 March until 09:59 on Friday 13 March.

This strike action is completely unnecessary, as driver-controlled trains are safe and have been operating elsewhere on the network for many years. The disruption it will cause is unacceptable, particularly following the strikes which affected residents throughout December.

On the upside, I welcome South Western Railway’s announcement that it will be compensating customers affected by the December strikes. This is in addition to the normal ‘delay repay’ arrangements, and a welcome acknowledgement of the disruption faced by Elmbridge commuters.

The company will repay customers the cost of up to five days of rail travel. This will be available to season ticket holders and daily ticket holders who travelled frequently during the strike. SWR will directly contact season ticket holders, and other customers will need to apply for the compensation. I have contacted South Western Railway to ask for more detail on the timescales involved and have written to them to urge that the compensation is extended to cover the strikes next month. You can read my letter below.

I appreciate that providing compensation does not address the long-running problems with punctuality, reliability and overcrowding. That’s why I will be meeting SWR’s Managing Director Mark Hopwood shortly to convey residents’ frustration with these issues and look at what more can be done.

In addition, there is an ongoing root and branch review into the railway system and the franchise model. It is encouraging that Keith Williams, who is leading the review, has already said that franchising cannot continue in its current form. I have fed in local constituents’ concerns to the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to press for a system assessed against clear and measurable criteria for passenger service – including punctuality, reliability and overcrowding – against which the operating company can be held to account.