South Western Railway (SWR) is urging customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18 due to planned strike action.

While Network Rail strike action has been called off, strike action by RMT members from SWR and other train operators will still take place, severely reducing the number of services that can operate and affecting services in Axminster.

With 40% of the overall workforce eligible to strike, including guards, dispatchers and depot shunters, SWR's contingency managers will only be able to cover a limited number of services between 7am and 6.30pm on both strike days. On Friday, March 17 services will also start later than usual, at about 7am.

Long-planned engineering work on Saturday, March 18 will mean that the usual strike day route between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside will be unavailable, with trains terminating at Hounslow instead. 

The mainline between London Waterloo and Southampton Central will also be affected, with no trains between Woking and Basingstoke. Rail replacement bus services will not run on either route. 

On Thursday, March 16, the following services will run between 7am and 6.30pm:

• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Southampton Central 
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking 
• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Basingstoke 
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside 
• One train per hour in each direction between Guildford and Woking* 
• One train per hour in each direction between Salisbury and Basingstoke** 

On Friday, March 17, services will start later than usual, with customers asked to check before travelling. 

On Saturday, March 18, the following services will run between 7am and 6.30pm:

• Two trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Hounslow 
• Four trains per hour in each direction between London Waterloo and Woking 
• One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Southampton Central 
• One train per hour in each direction between Woking and Guildford* 
• One train per hour in each direction between Basingstoke and Salisbury** 

Trains will not stop at all the stations on strike days. A normal service will operate on the Island Line.

On Sunday, March 19, a normal Sunday timetable will operate. 

Check www.southwesternrailway.com/strike for all strike information.  

South Western Railway's chief operating officer, Stuart Meek, said: "I'm afraid I have to once again urge our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 March, and if you do have to travel, please check your entire journey as long-planned engineering works will affect services on the Saturday.  

"While we are pleased to be able to provide additional services for Guildford and Salisbury during this round of strikes, we're sorry that large parts of our network will still be closed. Our contingency managers are stepping in to provide the best service we can, and we thank our customers for their ongoing patience during these latest RMT strikes."