Services at both Dorchester South and Dorchester West train stations will be severely disrupted from Sunday, December 18 to Monday, January 2 due to planned strike action.

This action includes a ban on National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) members working overtime or on rest days and affects people in a variety of roles, including guards on trains as well as dispatchers on platforms and shunters in depots.

Dorchester South - South Western Railway

South Western Railway's (SWR) ability to operate train services is significantly limited throughout the extended period of industrial action.

On some dates across this period, there are also major engineering works taking place which further complicates the planning of services.

Due to the knock-on impact of RMT strike action and long-planned engineering works, customers are urged to only travel if absolutely necessary on December 18.

There will be a severely reduced service on a very limited number of routes, from 7am to 10pm only, consisting of:

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

Trains will not stop at all the stations on some of these routes. There will be no SWR services across the rest of the network on December 18, including through Dorchester South.

Due to strike action affecting Network Rail, limiting the infrastructure available to SWR to run services, customers are also urged to only travel if absolutely necessary on December 24 and 27.

On Christmas Eve there will be a reduced service with an early shutdown. Some of the last services from London Waterloo will leave as early as 12noon, with all services finished and trains taken out of service by 3pm.

No services will be running on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

On December 27, there will be a late start-up from about 12noon, followed by a reduced service.

Customers who have no choice but to travel should check the SWR website to see which services are running on these days.

For the rest of the industrial action period, from December 19 to 23, and from December 28 to January 2, SWR will run a reduced service from 7am to 10pm only and customers should check their whole journey before they travel, as some parts of the network will be closed.

South Western Railway's performance and planning director, Steve Tyler, said: "We are very sorry that the RMT overtime ban will severely disrupt our customers travel plans throughout the Christmas period and into the New Year.

"While not a strike, the overtime ban limits the number of trains we can get into service each day and we have had to make some difficult decisions to be able to provide a reliable and consistent service throughout the period.

"We are urging customers to check their entire journey before setting off and thank them for their patience and cooperation during this damaging industrial action by the RMT."

In addition, the RMT has announced that its members at Network Rail and train operating companies, including SWR, will be taking strike action on January 3, 4, 7 and 7 2023.

SWR will update customers once it has confirmed what service levels it can provide during this period.

Customers are urged to check the SWR website for the latest travel advice for each day of the industrial action at www.southwesternrailway.com/strike

Dorchester West - Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR) is warning of significant disruption to rail services during December and January but expects trains in the week before Christmas will continue to operate. 

A reduced, revised timetable will operate across several train operators, including GWR, for most of this period. 

On strike days - December 16 and 17, January 3 and 4, and January 6 and 7 – only an extremely reduced service will operate on a limited number of routes between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Some parts of the GWR network will have no service at all, including Dorchester South.

On the days between the strikes – December 15 and January 5 – a reduced timetable will operate, and trains will start later.

On the days after the strikes – December 18 and January 8 – trains will start later and there could be short-notice cancellations and alterations. 

From Monday, 19 December to Saturday, December 24 a full timetable is planned to run. However, trains will finish much earlier than usual on Christmas Eve and customers should check their journey before travelling, travel earlier in the day and you are advised to reserve a seat on services.

It is strongly recommended that anyone travelling on Christmas Eve plans to finish their journey by lunchtime that day.  

After Christmas and throughout the New Year period, a reduced timetable will operate on all routes, and there will be some late-night cancellations. 

On the days affected, passengers are advised to find an alternative way to travel. Where services are running, customers should only travel by train if absolutely necessary, and it is highly recommended that a seat reservation is made.

Where GWR is able to run services, they are expected to be extremely busy and they are not able to provide bus replacement services. 

Customers who have already purchased tickets for strike days can  claim a full refund  or amend their ticket; those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to Delay Repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more.  

To help customers, tickets will be valid for travel on alternative days on GWR services as follows: 

• Tickets for 13, 14, 16, 17 December can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday 20 December
• Tickets for 24, 27 December can be used the day before (where applicable), or up to and including Thursday 29 December 
• Tickets for 3, 4, 6, 7 January can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday 10 January

Season-ticket holders can apply for compensation through the Delay Repay scheme. 

For more detailed information, including when journey planners will be updated with the latest train times, please click here.