Rail strikes to start again TOMORROW: Passengers face yet more travel chaos as union boss says members are ‘in this for the long haul’ – with more action planned for this weekend
- Further travel chaos expected Wednesday as rail workers prepare to strike again
- London Overground, Avanti Westcoast and CrossCountry lines to be impacted
- Union bosses say they will continue to strike until a resolution – potentially impacting Christmas and New Year travel plans
- It comes after 54,000 staff walked off the job ahead of the London Marathon
Britons have been warned to prepare for more travel chaos on Wednesday as staff walk off the job again as part of the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and work conditions.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will strike in a move which is expected to cause huge disruption to services.
The dispute will continue until the Government intervenes, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan told PA today.
He urged Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan to ‘lift the shackles’ from train companies so they could make a pay offer to disgruntled workers.
‘The message I am receiving from my members is that they are in this for the long haul and if anything they want industrial action to be increased,’ he said.
Britons have been warned to prepare for more travel chaos on Wednesday as staff walk off the job again as part of the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and work conditions
Signs detailing the strike action were erected in stations across London on Saturday, warning of disruptions later in the week
Members of the Aslef, RMT and TSSA unions are all involved in the planned walkouts (pictured, staff striking earlier in the week)
Empty stations and signs warning of severe disruption were seen across the country during the most recent strike, on October 1
Strikes on Wednesday: What you need to know
Avanti West Coast – no services will run
c2c – industrial action will not impact services, but trains are likely to be busier than usual
Chiltern Railways – no services will run
CrossCountry – no services will run
East Midlands Railway – no services will run
Great Western Railway – services will be ‘extremely limited ‘ between 7.30am to 6.30pm. Trains will only operate between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington; Reading and Oxford; and Reading and Basingstoke
Greater Anglia – commuters warned to ‘avoid travelling with us’. Services to be severely reduced and disrupted. Most routes are unlikely to have train or bus replacements
LNER – customers urged to keep checking online for updates, but services will likely be similar to October 1 with no service to or from stations north of York
Northern – no services will run
South Western Railway – industrial action will not impact services, but trains are likely to be busier than usual
Southeastern – no services will run
Southern, Great Northern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express – industrial action will not impact services, but trains are likely to be busier than usual
TransPennine Express – ‘very limited service on some lines’. Customers urged to travel only for essential journeys
West Midlands Railway – no services will run
The train drivers’ strike will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express), Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Members of the TSSA will strike at CrossCountry and take other forms of industrial action at several other operators.
The TSSA is also planning industrial action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at more than a dozen train companies and Network Rail will strike on Saturday.
Passengers are advised to check before they travel on Wednesday and allow extra time for their journey.
Train companies not involved in the strike will be running as usual, but these services are expected to be busy.
Services are also likely to be disrupted in the early morning of Thursday as workers return to duties.
The disruption will affect football fixtures and the final day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: ‘These strikes disrupt the travel plans of millions of passengers and undermine businesses who continue to struggle with rising costs and this continued action will only further damage the railway’s recovery.
‘While some rail companies are not involved in the strike, services are likely to be busy, severely disrupted or in some cases not running, so passengers should check the latest travel advice before setting off.
‘Passengers with advance, off-peak or anytime tickets affected by the strikes on 5 October can use their ticket on the day before the booked date, or up to and including 7 October.
‘Passengers can also change their tickets to travel on an alternate date or get a refund if their train is cancelled or rescheduled.’
It comes days after 54,000 rail workers walked off the job this weekend, sparking chaos for the 50,000 people who flocked to the city for the London Marathon and 200,000 spectators who attended football games.
Striking workers and protesters gather outside a train station in Leeds amidst the ongoing dispute between unions and train bosses over pay on October 1
The strikes will cause chaos for rail passengers as services get back up and running after repeated walkouts
Members of the TSSA and RMT unions stand on one of the many picket lines around the UK on October 1. Unions have warned staff are ‘in it for the long haul’ and will strike again on Wednesday
The move left travellers frustrated, with some blasting the unions for penalising the ‘kindest folk, charities and the people they are helping’.
Others branded them ‘vile selfish bullies’ for striking on the eve of one of the biggest events in the capital’s calendar.
Total travel meltdown was avoided after planned strike action by bus drivers was called off. Members of Unite employed by Arriva in North London secured an improved pay offer of 11%, the union said on Friday.
Millions of travellers could also be left stranded over Christmas as militant union bosses pledge to ‘get creative’ with more walkouts.
Unions threatened to cause travel woe at one of the busiest times of the year if its long-running dispute with Network Rail and the Government drags into December.
Signs at a picket line in central London today as around 50,000 rail workers walk out in a 24-hour strike
Millions of travellers could also be left stranded over Christmas as militant union bosses pledge to ‘get creative’ with more walkouts
Eddie Dempsey, assistant secretary at the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, and his boss, general secretary Mick Lynch, have both said they will urge members to strike over Christmas if no settlement is reached.
Mr Dempsey told The Mirror: ‘We’re in it until we win it. It’ll affect Christmas.
‘The way things are, we’re going to have to get creative. I won’t let the cat out of the bag, but we will alter our industrial position if we don’t see some movement in the next short period.
‘Strikes will go on until we get a settlement. We don’t want to continue strikes through Christmas, but if there is no settlement they will continue.’
Members of the Aslef rail union stand outside Newcastle’s Central station holding signs saying they worked throughout the pandemic
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef said that his members were increasingly angry at the lack of progress in the dispute
Planned strikes expected to continue into Thursday, Friday and Saturday
The TSSA is also planning industrial action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at more than a dozen train companies and Network Rail will strike on Saturday.
Train companies not involved in the strike will be running as usual, but these are expected to be busy.
Services are also likely to be disrupted in the early morning of Thursday as workers return to duties.
Avanti West Coast – customers warned to only travel if absolutely necessary
c2c – ‘significant disruption’ expected. Trains to continue to run between 7.30am and 6.30pm
Chiltern Railways – customers warned to expect significantly reduced timetable
CrossCountry – services will run on ‘significantly reduced’ timetable
East Midlands Railway – services to run only between 7.30am and 6.30pm
Great Western Railway – services will run, but they will be limited and start later and finish earlier. Customers are urged to check before travelling
Greater Anglia – commuters warned to ‘avoid travelling with us’. Services to be severely reduced and disrupted. Most routes are unlikely to have train or bus replacements
LNER – no decision yet. Customers told there will be updates in the coming days
Northern – limited services will run, so customers are urged to only travel if absolutely necessary
South Western Railway – no decision yet. Customers told there will be updates in the coming days
Southeastern – limited services will run, so customers are urged to only travel if absolutely necessary
Southern, Great Northern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express – no decision yet. Customers told there will be updates in the coming days
TransPennine Express – ‘very limited service on some lines’. Customers urged to travel only for essential journeys
West Midlands Railway – ‘significant disruption’ expected. Trains to continue to run between 7.30am and 6.30pm
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