South Western Railway will not run trains in and out of Portsmouth due to ASLEEF strikes on Friday

September 1 will be the first day of ASLEF Union strike action that will affect the SWR’s main line drivers.

With far fewer main line drivers available, SWR will operate a much different timetable to previous strike days and there will be no trains from Portsmouth.

Major stations such as Winchester, Eastleigh, Southampton Airport Parkway, Southampton Central and Salisbury will not be served by SWR and there will be no service on the Island Line.

An extremely limited service will operate on a small number of lines across the rest of the SWR network with trains only running between 7am and 7pm.

An RMT union strike will take place on September 2 and although more of the network will be open than Friday, September 1, there will continue to be a significantly reduced service.

Customers are again advised to only travel on the mainland if absolutely necessary.

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Journey planners for both September 1 and 2 are now up to date and customers should check their entire journey before travelling, as other train operators will also be affected.

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway's chief operating officer, said: “This is the first time our network has been subject to full strike action by members of the ASLEF Union and, as a result, we are only able to offer an extremely limited service on Friday, September 1.

“Friday, September 1 will be different to previous days of strike action with a lot fewer trains running and with the majority of the network closed. Our advice to customers is to not travel unless your journey is absolutely necessary. The few services we will be running are likely to be extremely busy and we may have to use queuing systems and crowd control measures.

“If customers must travel on either day, they should check their entire journey before travelling, with other operators also impacted by strike action. We're really sorry for the disruption."

For more information about what trains will be affected and for alternative means of public transport, visit the website.