Passengers using South Western Railway should be braced for major disruption over the Easter Holidays as four days of industrial action are set to go ahead.

The strikes are the latest in the long-running dispute over the future role of guards and driver-only operated trains between the rail company and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

All guards, commercial guards and train driver RMT members have been instructed not to work any rest days between 12.01am on Friday, March 30 and 11.59pm on Monday, April 2.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said he knew the action would have a “serious impact” on services but that the “pig-headed attitude” of SWR was to blame.

He said: “It is frankly disgraceful that South Western Railway continue to point-blank refuse to engage with the union in meaningful talks over their plans to run trains without a safety-critical guard on board across this franchise.

“Instead, they continue to resort to the crudest possible attempts to threaten, bully and harass our members fighting to put public safety before private profit.”

A SWR spokesman said: “Once again, the RMT has chosen to take disruptive industrial action at a time when families and friends traditionally get together to celebrate over a holiday period.

“We will do everything we can to minimise the disruption that this unnecessary action will undoubtedly cause, and intend to operate a normal timetable over the Easter period.

“However, engineering work is planned for some parts of our network so we advise customers to check our website before they travel."