Rail passengers face a week of travel disruption due to strikes and other types of industrial action in long-running, contentious disputes over pay, jobs, and conditions.
Members of the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport union) and ASLEF (The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) are on strike. The ASLEF supports drivers, whilst the RMT represents workers from a variety of industries, including station staff and guards.
Aslef members at 16 train companies in England went on strike on Saturday and will strike again tomorrow (October 4), coinciding with the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester.
Many regions of the country will be without services on strike days, and those that do run will begin and end later than usual.
Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Northern, Southeastern, and Transpennine Express are among the operators warning of service disruptions.
Drivers were prohibited from working overtime on Friday and are refusing to work rest days again this week (Monday, October 2 to Friday, October 3), causing chaos.
According to the union, railway companies have always failed to hire enough drivers to offer a proper service.
Full list of affected services due to Train Strikes
- Underground – tube services will be “severely affected” or not run at all on Wednesday (October 4) and Friday (October 6). There will also be no night tube on Friday. Disruption is expected before 8am after strikes on October 5 and 7. The Elizabeth Line, London Overground and tram services are not affected.
- Avanti West Coast – no services on Wednesday (October 4). Avanti plans to run normal timetable during overtime bans.
- C2C – no services on Wednesday (October 4). On days when overtime bans are in place there will be a reduced peak time service, with two trains per hour during off-peak times.
- Chiltern Railways – no services on Wednesday (October 4). Chiltern will run amended timetable during overtime bans.
- CrossCountry – no services on Wednesday (October 4). Some services will be amended during overtime ban dates.
- East Midlands Railway – no services on Wednesday (October 4). East Midlands says journey planners show days when overtime ban is in place.
- GTR – no Thameslink, Great Northern or Gatwick Express services on Wednesday (October 4). Limited Southern shuttle service, calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only. Services on Thursday (October 5) to begin much later than normal, including some routes with none until after 7am. On overtime ban days, GTR has an amended timetable with fewer services running. The non-stop Gatwick Express service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and Brighton will not run.
- Great Western Railway – reduced and revised timetable on Wednesday (October 4). Services that go ahead will start from 7.30am and all journeys must be completed by 6.30pm.
- Greater Anglia and Stansted Express – reduced services expected to run on both strike and overtime ban days.
- Heathrow Express – fewer trains will be going to Heathrow Airport tomorrow (October 4) and will start later and finish earlier. Trains will run between Paddington and Heathrow between 7.40am and 6.25pm. Services between Terminal 5 and Paddington will run between 7.42am and 6.57pm. And there will be trains between 7.47am and 7.02pm from Heathrow Central into Paddington. The Elizabeth Line will service customers travelling from London to Heathrow. Heathrow has not announced any changes during overtime bans.
- LNER – services will run on ‘extremely limited timetable’ on Wednesday (October 4), with minor alterations on days before and after.
- London Northwestern Railway – no service on Wednesday (October 4). Buses in place of trains between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey on overtime ban days.
- Northern – no service on Wednesday (October 4) and no rail replacement bus services. Overtime ban days likely to cause short notice alterations and cancellations.
- Southwestern Railway – extremely limited service on a small number of lines. No service on the Island Line.
- Southeastern – no service on any routes during strike days but company expects to run full service during overtime ban periods.
- TransPennine – no service on Wednesday (October 4). No early morning and late evening alterations on days before or after strike day.
- TransPennine Express – plans to run normal timetable during overtime ban days.
- West Midlands Railway – no service on Wednesday (October 4). Reduced train services to operate on overtime ban days, with reduced train services between Birmingham New Street and Hereford and Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury. A bus service will replace trains between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa via Coventry. Overtime ban days could see amended timetables and on-the-day cancellations.