RAIL users will be hit by a fresh walkout by the RMT for five days from this morning (Tuesday), in addition to strike action on four Saturdays in November.

The latest in the long-running dispute is aimed at ramping up the pressure on South Western Railway (SWR) after failing to reach agreement on the issue of guards on trains.

Lasting for most of the upcoming half-term holiday, the walkout will impact families as well as regular commuters.

A reduced services is running on most of the network.

Strike action will also be taken on four consecutive Saturdays next month – November 3, 10, 17 and 24.

Haslemere Rail Users’ Group (HRUG) secretary Martin Odell said: “Sadly, all passengers will suffer.

“We understand RMT want a guard guarantee on each train for safety reasons, whereas SWR has proposed a framework for talks which would guarantee a second person with safety critical competencies rostered on all trains.

“We have supported the concept of a second person on the train, albeit not calling them a guard, so one would have thought that actually the two positions are the same.

“But we believe that underlying RMT’s position is not truly safety, but the introduction of Driver Only Operator (DOO) trains which can be operated without a guard.

“Frankly most of us passengers would rather get to and from Haslemere for all or part of the journey on a DOO without a guard instead of the train being cancelled.”

The RMT has managed to reach agreements with other rail networks in the UK concerning the guarantee of a guard on every train, most recently with Greater Anglia, but seems to have hit an impasse with SWR.

A SWR spokesman said: “Our plan is to continue to have members of staff on each train. We have guaranteed to roster a guard on all our services.

“The sticking point is if the guard is taken ill or is not able to get onto the train because of a specific reason, such as during disruption, then we want the train to run as normal to avoid passengers being stranded.

“RMT, however, do not want the train to run if there is no guard.

“What we’ve been trying to talk to the RMT about is how we can keep our passengers moving on the rare occasions when a guard is unavailable at short notice.”

An RMT spokesman said: “Our proposals have been good enough for everyone else, so why is it not good enough for SWR?

“Commuters pay a lot of money in Surrey and they should get the same quality of service.

“They should absolutely have enough guards to cover illness. You should not expect to run a train without a guard.

“Think about if there is a disabled passenger waiting to board a train at a station.

“The guard needs to be there to help them on board safely. There is a deal to be done and we want to sit round a table with SWR and reach a deal.”

Last week, campaign group South Western Railway Watch, called on the Department for Transport to conduct an urgent review of staffing across the network and an increase of staff at stations.

Its campaign co-ordinator Jeremy Varns said: “While the RMT has framed this dispute around the role of guards, wider issues need addressing that we believe have a great impact on safety and accessibility.

“Now is the time for positive dialogue and the involvement of all passengers, not just those the union wishes to engage with for their PR campaign.

“We are calling for a ‘Safer Stations Guarantee’. Passengers have for too long had to put up with asubstandard service while fares increase year on year.

“SWR owners are now renegotiating their contract with the DfT, presumably hopeful of more favourable terms barely a year into their seven-year term.

“Now is the ideal opportunity for the Department of Transport to raise expectations to meet the needs of rail passengers better.

“Striking primarily hurts those who rely most on the service. It can no longer be acceptable for this impasse to continue.”