Victorious: Rail strike warning for Portsmouth festival-goers

Thousands of people are expected to attend the Victorious festival in Southsea

A rail firm has warned that no trains will serve a city for part of a major music festival.

Victorious Festival attracted 170,000 people to Portsmouth last year.

South Western Railway (SWR) said it would not run trains to the island city on Saturday due to a national strike by members of the RMT union.

Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt said he was disappointed that the city could suffer from lost income and increased traffic.

The RMT strike on Saturday will affect 14 train operating companies

The Liberal Democrat councillor said: "Whilst I understand and respect that workers securing fair pay is a fundamental principle, it is also hugely important to the city that Victorious Festival and our bank holiday visitor economy maximises its income.

"It is hugely disappointing that people are being pushed back into their cars or choosing not to visit the city at all over the busiest weekend of the summer."

A separate strike by First South bus workers over the Bank Holiday weekend has been called off after a pay deal was agreed with the Unite union.

Kasabian are among the headliners at the Victorious Festival on Saturday

SWR said the rail stoppage would also affect Portsmouth football fans travelling to an away game at Stevenage.

It said people travelling to Southampton Pride or the Southampton v QPR fixture at St Mary's Stadium would face a reduced service, with the last London-bound train from Southampton Central departing at 17:45 BST.

Chief operating officer Stuart Meek said:  "Once again, we're sorry for the disruption and thankful for our customers' patience during these latest RMT strikes." 

The long-running dispute with 14 train operators is over pay, job security and working conditions.

SWR warned people to avoid travelling on its network due to reduced services.

Kasabian and Alt-J are among the Saturday headliners for the music festival which runs for three days over the Bank Holiday weekend.