South Western Railway guard strikes suspended

A union has called off two 24-hour strikes on South Western Railway (SWR) in the long-running dispute over the future of guards on trains.

Members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Workers had planned to walk out between 10:00 GMT on 9 March and 09:59 on 10 March.

They were also due to strike between the same times on 12 and 13 March.

The union said the suspension was to allow further talks to take place on Friday.

SWR has been affected by several strikes by train guards since 2018, including a 27-day stoppage in December.

The dispute centres on an order by SWR for new trains, designed for the driver to operate the doors.

The union has demanded that guards should control the door operation for the safety of passengers.

It has previously reached agreements over guards' roles with other rail firms, including Greater Anglia and operators in Scotland and Wales.

SWR, which has promised to keep a guard on every train, believes the new carriages offer "the most efficient means of dispatch".

The company operates routes between London Waterloo, Reading, Bristol, Exeter, Weymouth and Portsmouth, as well as on the Isle of Wight.