There will be a reduced service on the Weymouth-Waterloo line again today due to a strike by the RMT union, disrupting New Year's Eve travel.

The strike is the latest in the long running guards dispute which the RMT says is about safety and has the support of members.

South Western Railway (SWR) says there will be an hourly rail shuttle between Weymouth and Bournemouth (Holton Heath will not be served) and hourly fast trains will run between Bournemouth and London Waterloo.

The stopping service between Poole and Waterloo will not operate.

A SWR spokesman said: "The RMT is concerned the introduction of new Class 701 vehicles will reduce the need for guards on SWR trains. However, this is simply not true.

"What we want to discuss with the RMT is how we can best operate these trains to optimise the customer benefit, specifically how we can keep customers moving if a guard is not available."

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Official parliamentary answers have shown that the Government is preparing to bail out South Western Railway for revenues lost as a result of strike action.

"Passengers will be outraged to know that instead of taking steps to resolve this dispute rail ministers are instead prolonging it by using tax payers' money to prop up South Western Railway on strike days."

For train times see southwesternrailway.com