South Western Railway strikes: Compensation package announced following December walk-outs

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Workers Union walked out for 27 days in a row over the future of guards on trains.

The company is introducing new trains which will allow doors to be operated by drivers instead of guards, but the union say this is unsafe.

About 600,000 passenger journeys were disrupted each day during the strikes.

Last month staff voted to hold more strike action but have not announced any dates yet.

Today South Western Railway announced five days of travel would be paid as compensation to season ticket holders and passengers who travelled frequently during the strikes.

The company said season-ticket holders would be contacted directly, but those with other tickets – including weekly and daily travel – will need to apply for compensation.

A message on the SWR website said: ‘During the December 2019 strikes we did our utmost to keep passengers moving and carried over 80 per cent of the number of passengers we normally would have done at this time of year.

‘However, having listened to customer feedback, and given the duration and intensity of the strike, we are now offering additional compensation, over and above the normal delay repay arrangements.’

The company operates routes between London Waterloo and Portsmouth, as well as to Reading, Bristol, Exeter and Weymouth.

For more information go to the South Western Railway website.