THERE is fresh rail misery for passengers hit by a possible 2.8 per cent hike in 2020 fares – with a further four days of strikes announced next weekend.

Rail union RMT says its members will strike from 00.01am on Friday, August 30, to 11.59pm on Monday, September 2, in the long-running dispute concerning guards.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “The company continues to refuse to give assurances on the future operational role of the guard, fuelling fears among our members of a stitch-up. ”

South Western Railway responded: “It’s extremely disappointing that despite having a date in the diary for what we hoped would be constructive talks held in good faith, the RMT union has somewhat cynically decided to call further disruptive strike action, inflicting misery on our customers and colleagues.

“On August 16, we met with union representatives for the fourth day of talks in the past ten days and were due to meet the general secretary of the RMT the very day before these strikes have now been announced for.”

The announcement of further strike action comes after rail fares look set to rise by 2.8 per cent from January 2.

Rises in regulated fares, such as season tickets, are pegged to the July increase in the Retail Prices Index.

This will add around £120 to a standard class season ticket from Alton and Farnham to Waterloo and from Liphook and Haslemere to Waterloo.

South Western Railway Watch pressure group spokesman Jeremy Varns said: “Those using South Western Railway may rightly feel especially aggrieved.

“Punctuality is down seven per cent compared to the same quarter in 2016-17 when services were being operated by predecessor South West Trains. There has been a 31 per cent increase in train cancellations in the same period, with 6,844 planned services subsequently not running over these three months.”

Passengers took to the Herald’s Facebook site to protest about increased fares. Amanda Buchan posted: “Commuters are faced with daily uncertainty of whether they will be able to get to work or not. Ever heard of ‘being taken for a ride’? That is what is happening.”