RAIL workers at First Great Western (FGW) are set to strike this weekend.

Workers who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out for three days from Saturday following a dispute over the introduction of new high-speed trains — a move it says will affect jobs.

FGW confirmed it expects to run the majority of London Thames Valley services but long distance and local rail services — including those running through Worcester and the rest of the county — will be reduced.

First Great Western managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: "These brand new trains will deliver more seats, faster journey times and more frequent journeys for our passengers. Our plans mean more train managers on board our trains, not less.

“The key issues remains, that we want the driver to close the doors — which is fundamental to our ability to run the faster, more frequent services customers should expect from a 21st century railway. This method has been used safely across the UK rail industry for decades.”

Those with tickets for Saturday, August 29, Sunday 30 or Monday 31 you can travel on any of those days. Those with Advanced Purchase tickets will also be allowed to travel on the service immediately before or after their booked train.

If a journey involves a line where FGW is not planning to offer a service at all on August 31, you can also travel on any off-peak FGW services on September 1.

Full refunds will be available for customers who choose not to travel.