Five days of strikes are set to go ahead on South Western Railway from tomorrow, after new talks failed to reach agreement over on-train staffing and the role of guards. The walkouts will close some lines and reduce many other services, although trains will run at certain times of day for Royal Ascot and the Hampton Court music festival. The RMT says SWR ‘is refusing to give assurances on safe operation’, but SWR said the failure of negotiations and the start of strikes was ‘very disappointing’.