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No Island Line Service On Friday As Strikes Get Underway

There's more disruption expected on rail services across the South - including on the Isle of Wight - as staff walk out this weekend (1st September).

Nationwide strike action by ASLEF union members will affect travel on Friday - with no South Western Railways services running on Island Line.

There'll also be problems for those heading to the mainland, as no South Western Railway services will run to Portsmouth either.

On Saturday (2nd), an RMT union strike then takes place. However, Island Line will run as normal despite the industrial action.

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 1 September.

“Friday 1 September 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.

“A significantly reduced service will operate the following day, Saturday 2 September, with more lines open but with large parts of the network still closed. Trains will only run between 0700 and 1900 and so our advice, again, is to only travel if journeys are absolutely necessary.

“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."

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