Rail bosses and unions face commuter fury with no services from 40 stations, despite there being no strikes
19 December 2022, 10:37
Rail bosses and unions have been slammed by commuters today for running no trains from over 40 stations in London and the wider South even tough no strike action is being held.
Other services that that typically run at least every 15 minutes were dropped to hourly services.
Commuters reached out to Twickenham MP Munira Wilson about the the situation.
She tweeted: “It’s not just Whitton, but also St Margarets and Strawberry Hill that have absolutely no services running through this week. I’m appalled.”
South Western Railway published a map that showed “no services” at over 40 stations including Earlsfield, Chertsey, Mortlake, Queenstown Road, Hampton Court, Frimley, Bagshot, Camberley and Dorking.
Among the many rail users affected by the chaos was Met Police Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, who tweeted:
“Despite their allegedly being no strikes tomorrow the @SW_Help trains into London are much reduced. My first train is an hour & a half after I need it to leave.
“I feel for our officers who work shifts - truly shocking service”.
There have been service reductions on other SWR services from commuter towns in Surrey like Farnham, Guildford and Woking.
Just three direct trains were planned from Farnham for rush hour this morning, with only two direct services planned for this evening, leaving many commuters with little option but to drive in or work remotely.
In a response to Ms Wilson, South Western Railway admitted some services will be hit with this severe disruption until January 3.
The disruption came despite the second two-day walk out on the rail network concluding on Saturday, with further strikes set to take place over Christmas and in the New Year.
The train firm messaged: “SWR has more than 2,100 RMT members who are eligible to strike.
"With Network Rail maintenance staff and signallers also taking action, we are reliant on contingency managers to keep as many trains as we can running, while always prioritising safety.
“We have prioritised the limited resources we have to keep our busiest routes open where possible, but regrettably we cannot cover all our routes.
“Services to and from Chertsey will be back in operation from 3rd January 2023 and given the scale of the industrial action across Network Rail and most train operators, it is impossible to provide sufficient replacement services to cover demand. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Great Western Railway, which has some commuter services into the capital as well as others to the West Country and Wales also cautioned there could be travel disruption as a result of the walk outs.
It tweeted: “From Monday 19 to Friday 23 December a full timetable will be in operation. However, due to ongoing industrial action there could be short notice alterations and cancellations.”
