THE RMT rail union is to escalate its dispute with South Western Railway (SWR) over the final weekend of the summer holidays, with a three-day strike set to go ahead.

Strike action will run from 12.01am on Friday, August 31, until 11.59pm on Sunday, September 2, as part of the long-running dispute over the role of guards.

The 72-hour walkout means the majority of routes across the network will face a reduced service across all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

This includes the Alton to Waterloo line via Farnham, where SWR has confirmed a reduced service will be in operation on Friday, with one train per hour running in each direction.

On Saturday, trains will run between Alton and Woking from 7am until 8pm. Buses will run between Farnborough Main and Alton from the start of service until 7am, and again from 8pm until the end of service. Bentley station will not be served by replacement buses.

While on Sunday, trains will run between Alton and Woking from 9am until 8pm. Buses will run between Farnborough Main and Alton from the start of service until 9am, and again from 8pm until the end of service.

Confirming the strike action, the RMT accused South Western Railway of “refusing to engage in a serious talks process that could reach an agreement”, criticising the company’s “cavalier and contemptuous approach”.

An SWR spokesman responded: “As the RMT persists with this unnecessary action on the final weekend of the summer holidays, we are working hard to keep customers moving and minimise disruption as much as possible.”