600,000 to be affected a day by rail strike next month in London

More than 600,000 passengers, including rail commuters and Christmas shoppers in London, are expected to be affected a day by strike action for almost all of next month after talks between South Western Railway (SWR) and the RMT union broke down.

The walkouts will affect more than 600,000 passengers a day and all routes to and from mainline Waterloo in central London, the busiest station in Britain. More than 17,000 trains will be cancelled, according to local media reports.

SWR runs services from Bristol Temple Meads to London Waterloo.

Members of RMT union will take industrial action between Dec. 2 and New Year's Day, which will cause mass disruption across the Christmas period.

The only respite will be on General Election day, which falls on Dec. 12, and on Christmas and Boxing Day when no or very few trains run anyway.

The talks broke down following a long running dispute over guards on trains. The RMT union, which ordered the walkouts, has refused to rule out further strikes if the dispute is not settled.