HOPES that travellers can look forward to strike-free journeys were voiced by Haslemere Rail Users Group after RMT’s announcement on Monday that three 24-hour walkouts had been cancelled.

Passengers were due to have been hit by the first strike on Friday, followed by further action on March 9 and March 16, but RMT said there had been a breakthrough in the long-running row over guards.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said there had been “substantial progress” in talks with the company, which he said had now offered a guarantee of a guard on services that have been in dispute.

Mr Cash said: “We need to recognise that the breakthrough on the guard guarantee that has been secured from South Western Railway (SWR) has only been achieved through nearly two years of action and campaigning by RMT members on the principle of a safe and accessible railway for all.”

An SWR spokesperson said: “We are pleased for our customers that the RMT has suspended the planned strike action to allow talks to take place next week. This means that we will now operate a normal service this Friday.

“We are looking forward to further constructive discussions with the RMT and are hopeful that by building on this breakthrough we can see an end to this industrial action and together build a better railway for our customers.”

Martin Odell, Haslemere Rail Users Group (HRUG) secretary, said: “We are not quite out of the woods yet, but HRUG is really excited by this most positive development and look forward to future strike-free journeys for Haslemere travellers.”

Monday’s announcement comes after 18 months of industrial action, 29 days of strikes and millions of disrupted passenger journeys.

It follows RMT reaching a similar compromise with Northern Rail, which left SWR out fighting on its own as the only big train operator still facing strikes.

Jeremy Varns, campaign coordinator of SWR Watch, said: “Passengers will welcome a rare piece of good news with regards to the decision by the RMT earlier this week to call off strike action on SWR. The industrial action had led to further disruption and inconvenience for rail users, with a significant reduction in service frequency on most routes.

“However, many will also ask what has actually been achieved by these strikes and the on-going industrial dispute which has lasted almost two years. What, if anything, has materially changed? Missing was any comment from RMT on whether or not a train could be dispatched without a guard when one was not available, which was supposedly the stumbling block to talks.

“Reference was made to the assessment of safe dispatch procedures, which the union will have involvement in, but the RMT confirmed that all new trains will operate with a guard who holds safety critical competencies. Does this mean that South Western Railway’s own contingency crews who were deployed effectively during the strikes could be used again and, if so, would these crews now have the confidence and approval of the union who previously claimed their use compromised safety?

“These are questions which passengers will want answers to. We also still await information from the Department for Transport over whether or not SWR’s claim for compensation as a result of lost revenue has been approved following previous strike action.

“Ultimately, tax payers would be liable for such a claim yet the DfT and Transport Secretary have been keeping us in the dark on this issue. At least, for now, the strike action is off and a further cause of stress to passengers has been averted. Whether or not this leads to a period of industrial harmony remains to be seen."