SWT – No Somerset trains on strike days
SWT has provided an update on the latest round of industrial action. This follows a failure to negotiate further with ASLEF to resolve their ongoing pay dispute. The last time the rail companies agreed to meet the unions was in April. Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “While we regret having to take this action – we don’t want to lose a day’s pay, or disrupt passengers, as they try to travel by train – the government, and the employers, have forced us into this position. Our members have not, now, had a pay rise for four years – since 2019 – and that’s not right when prices have soared in that time. Train drivers, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy four years ago.”
The latest set of industrial action will be as follows:
- Friday 29 September – overtime ban
- Saturday 30 September – strike action
- Monday 2 October – overtime ban
- Tuesday 3 October – overtime ban
- Wednesday 4 October – strike action
- Thursday 5 October – overtime ban
- Friday 6 October – overtime ban
On Strike days SWT have confirmed they will be running no train services through Somerset. All services through Templecombe, Yeovil Junction and Crewkerne will be cancelled. No SWT services will use Yeovil Penn Mill, Bruton, Castle Cary or Frome.
On non strike days the overtime ban could result in cancellations. However SWT say their services for those days will be up to date by 27 September. Please check their updated timetables before you travel.
Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I’m sorry to say that, due to industrial and strike action by the ASLEF union over the next two weeks, we will be forced to make changes to our timetables. We will run an extremely limited service on both Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October and our advice to customers is to only travel if their journeys are absolutely necessary. While we will run as many services as possible on days subject to overtime bans, our advice to customers is to check before travelling.”