The railway strikes which plagued 2022 are set to continue into the New Year with four days of strikes taking place this week. 

Only a fraction of the South Western network will be running, and much of the network will be closed entirely. There will be no South Western trains from or to Honiton.

National strike action by the RMT will take place from today (Tuesday 3 January) to Saturday 6 January and passengers are urged to avoid travelling during this period. 

There will also be disruption on Sunday 7 January - services will start later than usual and are expected to be very busy. 

On Thursday 5 strike action by the ASLEF union will affect depot drivers and this will significantly limit the number of trains leading to a severely reduced service and the same timetable operating as on other strike days.

South Western Railway's Managing Director, Claire Mann, said:  "I'm sorry that due to the damaging, national strike action by both the RMT and ASLEF unions, a severely reduced service will operate on our network. We must urge our customers to only travel if absolutely necessary between Tuesday 3 and Sunday 8 January.

"Large parts of our network will be closed between Tuesday 3 and Sunday 8 January. On Sunday 8 January there will be a late start to services and so we urge our customers to carefully check their journeys, before they travel, using journey planners.

"We share our customers' frustration over this nationwide strike action and the impact it has on our network and services. We are grateful to our customers for their continued cooperation, patience, and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging strike action to an end."

Anyone wishing to travel should check the latest journey information here.