travel during rail strike

May train strikes: How will the next rail drivers’ walk-out affect passengers?

N ational rail strikes by train drivers will enter a third summer with a series of “rolling” walk-outs, one region at a time, during May .

Members of the Aslef union aim to halt thousands of trains on 7, 8 and 9 May 2024 – with commuters who normally go to the office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday among the targets.

The aim is to disrupt services on the 14 rail firms in England that are controlled by the UK government and represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Rolling strikes cause maximum disruption for minimum loss of pay.

In addition, six days of overtime bans will cause further cancellations from 6 to 11 May. The first day is the early May bank holiday, while the last coincides with Take That performing in Manchester .

The previous national industrial action by train drivers, comprising an overtime ban and rolling regional walk-outs, hit passengers in April .

Industrial action by Aslef train drivers in their dispute over pay and working arrangements began in July 2022. The union is demanding a no-strings pay award, but rail firms – directed by ministers – say any increase is contingent on radical reforms to working practices in order to reduce public subsidies.

During the dispute, hundreds of millions of journeys have been cancelled. Billions of pounds have been lost to the UK economy – particularly hospitality businesses.

Taxpayers are pumping cash into an increasingly decrepit and unreliable railway to the tune of £90 per second on top of the normal subsidy. Over the course of a year, that amounts to £2.8bn in addtional public cash.

The quarrel has become increasingly bitter, with no sign of any progress towards a settlement.

Caught in the middle of a seemingly intractable dispute: the passenger. In a snap social media poll for The Independent that garnered 2,142 responses, one in three passengers say they will permanently travel less after the industrial action finally ends.

For passengers, these are the key questions and answers.

Which rail firms are involved?

Aslef is in dispute with the 14 train operating companies (TOCs) that are contracted by the UK government to provide rail services. They are:

Intercity operators:

CrossCountry

East Midlands Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR)

TransPennine Express

Southeast England commuter operators:

Greater Anglia

GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)

Southeastern

South Western Railway (including the Island Line on the Isle of Wight)

Operators focusing on the north of England, the Midlands and links from London

Chiltern Railways

Northern Trains

West Midlands Railway (including London Northwestern Railway)

When are the train drivers walking out?

Drivers belonging to the Aslef union will strike in the following pattern:

Tuesday 7 May

C2C, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway. Commuters around London comprise the main target.

Wednesday 8 May

Avanti West Coast , Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry. The aim is to cause maximum disruption on key intercity lines as well as Midland commuter services.

Thursday 9 May

LNER , Northern and TransPennine Express. This is aimed at users of the East Coast main line and passengers in the North of England and southern Scotland.

What are the predicted effects at each operator?

The Night Riviera sleeper train from London to Penzance and the Gatwick Express from London to the Sussex airport will be cancelled throughout the industrial action period.

For other operators, these are the probable service patterns – though travellers should check shortly before their planned journeys. Where trains are running, the normal hours of operation are likely to be curtailed.

Disruption is also likely on days before and after strike days. TransPennine Express says: “Plan carefully for any rail journeys as services may start later and finish earlier than usual.”

Greater Anglia will run to and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted airport, Southend, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Southern will run a shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick airport.

Thameslink will run a shuttle service between London St Pancras and Luton (town and airport stations).

Great Northern will run a shuttle service between London King’s Cross and Cambridge.

South Western Railway will run between London Waterloo, Woking and Guildford, with some other suburban services likely.

Southeastern will passengers not to travel, but is likely to run services between London St Pancras and Ashford on the high-speed line; Charing Cross and Orpington; and London Bridge and Dartford.

C2C will cancel all services.

Five train operators – Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry – are likely to cancel all train services.

GWR will run no long-distance trains, but will connect Reading with Oxford and Basingstoke, as well as a link from Bristol to Cardiff and some branch routes in Devon and Cornwall. The company says: “Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all and trains that are running will only be operating for a limited period during the day.”

Northern and TransPennine Express will cancel all services. LNER will run a skeleton service on core lines between around 7am and 7pm. Its main Edinburgh-Newcastle-York-London line will have at least one train an hour, with some additional trains on the southern part of the network.

What about the overtime ban?

Members are also refusing to work their rest days from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 May, inclusive. As many rail firms depend on drivers working overtime, hundreds – possibly thousands – of trains will be cancelled.

Greater Anglia, Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway will run a reduced timetable on each day of the overtime ban.

GWR typically says the overtime ban will cause “some short-notice alterations and cancellations, especially at weekends or late at night”.

But Southeastern says: “We expect to run our full service during this time, except for Tuesday 7 May, which is the strike day on our network.”

Which rail firms are not involved?

Some publicly funded train operators will run normally: ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (including the Elizabeth line) and Merseyrail.

“Open-access” operators on the East Coast main line – Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo – are unaffected. But many of their services will be crowded on days of industrial action. They duplicate journeys of strike-hit companies, including LNER, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry and Northern.

What is at stake in the dispute?

The train drivers demand a pay rise to reflect high levels of inflation since they last won a pay award; Aslef says some members have not had an increase for five years.

But the government insists that even a modest pay increase is contingent on radical changes to long-standing working arrangements in order to reduce costs – and the huge subsidies the railway is currently receiving from the taxpayer.

Since the pandemic, travel patterns have changed. Ticket revenue is about one-fifth down on pre-Covid levels. As taxpayers will foot the eventual bill for the train drivers’ pay rise, the Treasury as well as the Department for Transport will sign off any deal.

Ministers believe train drivers’ terms and conditions are part of the problem. To keep costs down, they must accept changes to how they work, such as making Sunday part of the working week everywhere.

On 27 April 2023 the Rail Delivery Group offered a pay increase of 4 plus 4 per cent over two years covering the 2022 and 2023 pay awards – subject to a host of changes on terms and conditions, covering a wide range of issues including driver training, Sunday working, sick pay and new technology.

The union say this is completely unacceptable. The train drivers will negotiate on changes, but only after they get a decent no-strings pay offer on top of their current pay.

They believe the money will be found to meet their demands, as it always has been in the past. Aslef has also always “sold” reforms to working arrangements for an extra few per cent on their pay and does intend to change that process.

Meanwhile, the corrosion in confidence among travellers continues, with no rail passenger able to plan journeys more than two weeks ahead – that being the minimum notice the union must give for industrial action.

What do the employers and government say?

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “This wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership will sadly disrupt customers and businesses once again, while further damaging the railway at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week just to keep services running.

“We continue to seek a fair agreement with the Aslef leadership which both rewards our people, gives our customers more reliable services and makes sure the railway isn’t taking more than its fair share from taxpayers.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Aslef’s leadership are acting like a broken record – calling for strike action time and time again while remaining the only rail union continuing to strike, as well as the only union refusing to put a fair and reasonable pay offer to its members for over a year.

“The transport secretary and rail minister have done their part to facilitate this pay offer- one which would take train drivers’ salaries up to an average of £65,000 which is almost twice the average salary in the UK.

“Aslef bosses should take the lead of the other rail unions, put this offer to their members and stop their campaign of contempt for passengers.”

What does the union say?

The general secretary of Aslef, Mick Whelan, said: “It is now a year since we sat in a room with the train companies – and a year since we rejected the risible offer they made and which they admitted, privately, was designed to be rejected.”

He said that negotiations were last held on 26 April 2024.

“Since then train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise. That’s why Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members. Drivers would not vote to strike if they thought an offer was acceptable. They don’t. And that offer – now a year old – is dead in the water.

“Our pay deals at these companies ran out in 2019. Train drivers at these TOCs have not had an increase in salary for five years. That is completely wrong. The employers – and the government – think we are going to give up and run away. They’re wrong. In the words of Tom Petty, we won’t back down …”

When will the strikes finally be over?

The working assumption is now that it will take a change of government. No prime minister since Margaret Thatcher has demonstrated such contempt for Britain’s railway as Rishi Sunak. On the eve of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow , he announced the halving of Air Passenger Duty on domestic routes – encouraging travellers to switch from rail to air.

Tearing up years of cross-party agreement, the prime minister scrapped plans for HS2 north of Birmingham and demanded a swift sell-off of protected land to ensure the project could not be resurrected. And Mr Sunak has tolerated 18 months of intermittent strikes by train drivers with no apparent appetite for a settlement.

What does the Labour Party say?

Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “It is a staggering dereliction of duty that the transport secretary hasn’t got around the table with the unions to try to resolve it since the Christmas before last.

“Labour will take an unashamedly different approach to the Tories, and will work with both sides to reach a deal in the interests of passengers and workers. If the transport secretary took this sensible approach then perhaps we wouldn’t still be having strikes on our railways.”

How much has all the disruption cost?

According to the RDG, industrial action from June 2022 up until mid-January 2024 cost the rail sector around £775m in lost revenue. That does not include the impact of the most recent strikes and overtime bans, which probably add a further £200m to the losses.

UKHospitality estimates the lost business for places to eat, drink and stay amounts to almost £5 billion. Kate Nicholls, the organisation’s chief executive, says: “Ongoing strike action hurts businesses, prevents people from getting to work and significantly erodes confidence in the rail network.”

In addition, there is an unknowable loss of revenue from passengers who have adjusted their lifestyles or found alternative forms of transport; businesses that have stopped making trips and are using online communication instead; and people trimming back on travel because of the lack of certainty.

What about the new minimum service levels law?

Legislation now allows the transport secretary to stipulate minimum service levels (MSLs) on strike days amounting to 40 per cent of the normal service. The government says the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 aims “to ensure that the public can continue to access services that they rely on, during strike action”.

No train operator is seeking to impose the new law on the train drivers’ union. LNER said it might do so earlier this year, and opened consultations. Aslef immediately called a separate five-day strike on LNER alone. Then the train operator said it would not require drivers to work, and the strike was called off.

The Transport Select Committee has previously warned of potential unintended consequences of the legislation. The Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, said: “There is a risk of MSLs worsening worker-employer relations and that, as a result, MSLs could end up making services less reliable.”

The minimum service level rules do not apply to union bans on non-contractual rest-day working – so there would be no benefit in imposing the law when an overtime ban is in force.

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How a freight train strike could throw your plans to travel by train off track

Frank Morris

A BNSF freight train. Frank Morris hide caption

A BNSF freight train.

CHICAGO — The United States may be hurtling toward a freight rail strike, one that could spill over into passenger service in much of the country. Railroads are cutting shipments; Amtrak has stopped some passenger routes. The sticking point isn't pay. It's the tough lifestyle that railroading imposes on people who drive trains — long shifts, lots of nights away, and the need to be on-call, able to get to work in two hours or less, for weeks on end.

On a normal day, about 7,000 freight trains crisscross the U.S, according to the Association of American Railroads, hauling most of the stuff that makes the economy work. But this whole system could shut down later this week because the people who drive these trains for a living are so angry, according to Dennis Pierce, who's president of the engineers union, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

"I have never seen this level of anger," Pierce says. "Animosity. Acrimony. You pick the word," he says. "That means they're pissed off, 'cause they are." He says even though freight train engineers and conductors haven't had a raise in three years, that's not the issue. "They do not have days off. They do not have a schedule." They're on call, Pierce says, for weeks on end.

Engineers and conductors want more predictable, and flexible, schedules

Railroad engineers and conductors are paid well, typically about $100,000 a year. Even so, former engineer Millie Hood — who drove trains 38 years for Burlington Northern Santa Fe — says the occupation is brutal. "Yeah, it sucks the life right out of you," Hood says. "You're constantly thinking about the job. When I got off work, I'd go home and go to sleep and I immediately know when I get up that they could call me to go to work."

Engineers and conductors want more predictable, and flexible, schedules. Two unions representing engineers and conductors have been bargaining with the railroads, along with 10 other unions representing other railroad workers, for close to three years.

The upshot of all that talking is a compromise hammered out this summer by a Presidential Emergency Board appointed by President Biden. It would offer rail workers the biggest pay hike in decades, boosting railroad wages 24% by 2024. But it doesn't get at the work schedule issues, and Pierce says the railroads can do better.

"Union Pacific reported its best year ever last year," Pierce says. "And that's like 160 years' worth of best years, billions of dollars in profits. They can afford everything their employees are asking for. ... Like hiring enough employees to cover for employees' absences when engineers or conductors need time off on short notice."

Still, all the other railroad unions have tentatively signed off on the proposal currently on the table. The engineers and conductors are holding out and they could trigger a strike Friday morning.

A BNSF engine pulls Metra commuter train cars at the Metra/BNSF railroad yard outside downtown Chicago on Tuesday. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

A BNSF engine pulls Metra commuter train cars at the Metra/BNSF railroad yard outside downtown Chicago on Tuesday.

A railroad strike could mean "people are not going to be able to make it home"

That would cause immediate problems for manufacturers, says Lee Sanders with the American Bakers Association. This is nationwide. And a broad range of manufacturers who get parts, packaging and raw material delivered by rail would be affected.

"If we don't get the ingredients that we need to our plants, we won't be able to make the products that we need to get our wholesome products to the consumers," Sanders says.

So, empty shelves are a possibility. And farmers are worried about shipping grain. Dangerous chemicals have already stopped moving. Especially valuable goods are next, and passengers are getting stranded, too.

Amtrak is already shutting down some of its long-distance routes, like the Southwest Chief, from Chicago to Los Angeles, the Silver Star, from New York to Miami, and the Empire Builder, from Chicago to Portland and Seattle. That's because, outside of the Northeast, most Amtrak trains use tracks that are owned and operated by the big freight railroads. So, if there's a strike, those trains can't run.

At Union Station in Kansas City, Tia Henderson and her baby daughter waited Tuesday for their regular train to St. Louis.

"People need to travel back and forth. People that don't have as much finances, that don't have a car," Henderson says. "So I feel like them stopping that'll be a horrible thing to do because people are not going to be able to make it home."

A railroad strike could cost billions of dollars and derail lots of travel plans. It's a political nightmare for the party in power. The Biden administration is leaning on the railroads and holdout unions to come to an agreement.

If they don't, and there's a strike or a lockout, Congress will likely move to force the two sides to accept a deal and go back to work.

Railroad Unions and Companies Reach a Tentative Deal to Avoid a Strike

President Biden praised the agreement as a “big win” for workers and the rail companies.

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By Jim Tankersley

Published Sept. 15, 2022 Updated Sept. 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — Freight rail companies and unions representing tens of thousands of workers reached a tentative agreement to avoid what would have been an economically damaging strike , a relief for businesses and consumers and a victory for President Biden, whose administration helped broker the deal.

The breakthrough on Thursday morning came just hours before a critical deadline that would have allowed workers to strike and had already begun affecting rail service across the United States. It followed all-night talks between unions and industry leaders that were brokered by Mr. Biden’s labor secretary, Martin J. Walsh. Mr. Biden called in to the discussions around 9 p.m. Wednesday, a person familiar with the talks said.

At the White House on Thursday, Mr. Biden said the agreement would benefit both workers and companies alike, reflecting his effort this week to remain impartial in the talks as he tried to push the sides toward agreement. While Mr. Biden has styled himself as the most pro-union president in history, he avoided publicly taking sides in a fight that carried huge economic and political risks, portraying the tentative deal as an achievement for both unions and corporations.

“This agreement is a big win for America,” Mr. Biden said. “And this is a great deal for both sides, in my view.”

Whether it ultimately prevents a strike remains to be seen. The deal now heads to union members for a ratification vote, which is a standard procedure in labor talks. While the vote is tallied, workers have agreed not to strike.

On Thursday, Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and labor advocate, praised Mr. Biden for his work on the agreement but stopped short of calling on workers to ratify it.

“It’s up to the rank-and-file union members to evaluate this deal and determine whether it works for them,” Mr. Sanders said in a news release. “These workers have not had a raise in three years and continue to work incredibly long hours under brutal working conditions. I will respect and support whatever decision they make.”

Although the agreement included compromise by both sides, workers ultimately won several of the concessions they were seeking, including better pay and more flexible schedules , like time off for medical appointments. With rail unions making clear that their workers were prepared to walk off the job, pressure was building on freight carriers to avoid an economically devastating strike that was set to inflict financial pain on them as well as businesses, farmers and consumers by crippling the movement of many critical goods.

In a sign of the compromise, freight companies and union leadership both praised the deal. The agreement would increase worker wages by a total of 24 percent over five years, stretching back to 2020, including what industry groups said would be an average payout of $11,000 per worker upon ratification.

Crucially, unions won the right to take unpaid time off to attend medical appointments without penalty, one of several measures meant to ease the burdens of a scheduling system that workers said made it incredibly difficult for them to plan routine physician visits or vacations. Still, in a win for the companies, workers must take unpaid leave to attend those appointments. Workers also were promised an additional day off and a guarantee that their health insurance premiums would not rise after the contract expired and while union leaders and management negotiated a new one.

Averting a strike was paramount for Mr. Biden, who was facing the prospect of far-flung shipping disruptions and a new wave of potential price spikes in the run-up to midterm elections in November.

He and his economic team had increasingly inserted themselves in the talks over the past week, hoping to avoid a work stoppage that would have snarled the distribution of food, chemicals for water treatment plants and other goods across the country. Such a stoppage also risked creating shortages on store shelves that could have sent consumer prices soaring, adding to an inflation rate that reached a four-decade high this summer.

The talks brokered by Mr. Walsh began Wednesday morning and lasted 20 hours. He called White House officials around 2 a.m. to say a deal appeared to have been reached, and Mr. Biden announced it around 5 a.m.

The agreement had an immediate impact. A day after canceling all long-distance passenger trains to avoid stranding people in the event of a freight rail strike, Amtrak said it was “working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures.” Many of Amtrak’s trains run on tracks operated and maintained by freight carriers.

Talks had stalled over a push for companies to improve working conditions, including allowing workers to take unpaid leave to visit physicians. The agreement grants that ability, giving workers one additional paid day off and an ability to attend medical appointments without penalty, labor unions said.

“Most importantly, for the first time ever, the agreement provides our members with the ability to take time away from work to attend routine and preventative medical, as well as exemptions from attendance policies for hospitalizations and surgical procedures,” the presidents of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers said in a news release.

The presidents, Jeremy Ferguson of the transportation division and Dennis Pierce of the engineers and trainmen, also said the deal would freeze workers’ monthly health care contributions when it expired, ensuring those costs would not increase during the next round of contract negotiations.

Mr. Biden said the agreement would help workers get medical care and help companies attract and retain workers. “This agreement is validation — validation of what I’ve always believed,” he said. “Unions and management can work together — can work together for the benefit of everyone.”

The Association of American Railroads, an industry group, thanked the unions and Biden administration officials — including Mr. Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — for helping to bring the deal together.

Union Pacific, a major rail carrier, also expressed relief at the deal. “We look forward to the unions ratifying these agreements and working with employees as we focus on restoring supply chain fluidity,” the company said in a statement.

Mr. Walsh wrote on Twitter that the agreement “balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy.”

“Our rail system is integral to our supply chain,” he said in a follow-up tweet , “and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country.”

Unions and the freight rail industry were negotiating ahead of a Friday deadline, when a federally imposed “cooling-off period” was set to end and workers would have been free to strike if no deal had been reached. That possibility had already shaken both freight and passenger rail companies.

Nearly a third of U.S. freight moves by rail, second only to trucking. The Association of American Railroads estimated that a nationwide rail service interruption would have idled more than 7,000 trains daily and cost the economy more than $2 billion a day.

Retailers and other business groups welcomed news of the deal, saying that, if ratified, it would avoid potentially devastating shipping delays for the holiday season.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association said in a release that its members had “endured enormous supply chain challenges over the last few years, and we are relieved that rail carriers and labor unions were able to reach a tentative agreement to avoid any further disruption.”

Congressional leaders — who were under increased pressure to step in to block a strike if the negotiations had not produced a deal by Friday — also lauded the agreement and, in particular, labor unions that represent a critical voting bloc. The agreement spared Democratic leaders in particular from what could have been a politically treacherous set of votes, pitting the party’s deep support for organized labor against its need for economic stability ahead of the midterm elections.

“I congratulate both parties for coming to terms that will avoid a strike and take a positive step forward in terms of respecting workers’ rights,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said on the Senate floor that “this episode is a reminder of an evergreen truth that people underappreciate even now: Workers are what make the wheels of our economy turn, in this case literally.”

Niraj Chokshi , Emily Cochrane and Ana Swanson contributed reporting.

Jim Tankersley is a White House correspondent with a focus on economic policy. He has written for more than a decade in Washington about the decline of opportunity for American workers, and is the author of "The Riches of This Land: The Untold, True Story of America's Middle Class." More about Jim Tankersley

How to navigate London amid transport strikes and airport disruptions

Jun 22, 2022 • 5 min read

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: Visitors to the West End find Oxford Circus underground station completely shut on June 21, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. The biggest rail strikes in 30 years started on Monday night with trains cancelled across the UK for much of the week. The action is being taken by Network Rail employees plus onboard and station staff working for 13 train operators across England. Thousands of jobs are at risk in maintenance roles and ticket office closures were planned as well as pay freezes during the cost of living crisis, says the RMT union. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)

Travelers in Britain this week face significant public transport disruption © Getty Images

Britain's biggest rail strike in 30 years began on Tuesday, with an estimated 40,000 rail staff taking part in the protest. Industrial action — prompted by a long-running dispute over salary, job security and redundancies — is scheduled for another two days this week, leading London 's transport authority to warn against travel in the capital on strike days.

Transport for London (TfL) said many stations will close on days of strike action and is warning of "severe disruption" against the city's entire public transport system.

What dates are the strikes taking place?

The first day of strikes took place on Tuesday but two more are scheduled for this week: Thursday, June 23 and Saturday, June 25.

A board displays travel service information at Euston Square Station in London,

What lines are affected?

Not all rail operators are taking part in the strike, however all public transport in Britain will be impacted, even buses and trams, as they take on additional passengers who can't access cancelled or reduced rail services. Half of railways nationwide are expected to shut down on Thursday and Saturday.

In London, the strikes are affecting the new Elizabeth line, London Overground services and some Tube services, both on strike days and until mid-morning the days after the strikes.

Even though the strike isn't taking place on Wednesday, according to the BBC, only 60% of trains are running in Britain today. TfL's latest updates note that passengers in London can currently expect severe delays on the Piccadilly, Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City, and District Tube lines. The London Overground is operating at reduced service with parts of the line suspended.

Tips for travelers in London

In London, the Overground services will run a reduced service between 7:30 am and 6 pm on Thursday and Saturday, the days of the strikes. Passengers are advised to expect continued disruption until at least mid-morning on Friday and Sunday across all services.

How to get around London

If you do need to travel, expect severe disruption across the rest of the week and allow plenty of extra time to get from A to B. TfL is encouraging people to walk or cycle if possible.

Passengers arrive at Kings Cross Station, London, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union

How will this impact travelers using London airports?

Airports in the UK are already struggling with increased demand and staff shortages during high season, with the situation reaching crisis point on Monday when many passengers were left stranded in London's Heathrow after dozens of flights were cancelled. Naturally, the ongoing strike will compound the issue.

People are advised to take alternative transport to airports if possible. National Express buses operate to some airports but services are already overwhelmed with thousands of people already booked onto buses for Glastonbury Festival which takes place this week.

Heathrow Airport

In London, the Heathrow Express — the direct line that takes passengers between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport — is expected to run every 30 minutes on strike days, rather than four times every hour. A final train departing for Heathrow Airport is expected at 6:10 pm from London.

"Due to a planned rail strike, Heathrow Express services will be significantly affected between 21st and 25th June, please allow additional time when traveling on these days. Customers who have already purchased tickets on strike days can claim a full refund or amend their ticket if required," Heathrow Express officials said.

Gatwick Airport

The Gatwick Express train is not running on strike days.

Stansted Airport

The Stansted Express train is running a reduced service on strike days. The first train from the airport to London is at 7:42 am on Thursday and the last is at 4:42 pm, with only one train per hour. On Sunday, the first train is at 7:42 am and the last is at 5:12 pm, with two trains running every hour.

The service from London to Stansted Airport will see the first train run at 8:40 am and the last at 5:40 pm on Thursday, with one train per hour. The first train on Saturday is at 8:10 am and the last is at 5:40 pm, with one train every hour.

Passengers are advised to take alternative transport on the days of industrial action, with Stansted Express offering refunds to those who decide not to take a train due to cancelled, delayed or rescheduled services due to the strike.

London City Airport

The DLR line will operate to London City Airport with some station closures on strike days.

Why are Britain's rail workers striking?

Two separate strikes are taking place: a nationwide strike from Network Rail and a separate strike from TfL staff; the first time both groups have striked since 1989.

Workers from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union voted to strike after talks failed with Network Rail bosses over years-long pay freezes and proposed job cuts, with RMT estimating that as many as 2500 jobs are at risk.

In London, the RMT said the Tube strike was over a "separate dispute over pensions and job losses".

RMT General Secretary Mike Lynch said of the action: "We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze."

In a statement , he added: "RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy."

Strike action will impact other aspects of travel in Europe this summer, with airline staff in Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal planning strike action in July. In Belgium, a cost of living strike is taking place this week.

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Rail strikes: Passengers told not to travel by rail as disruption hits

Published 20 August 2022

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Train, Tube and bus strikes: Information and advice on this week's industrial action

Football fans and festival goers are among those dealing with ongoing travel disruption on Saturday, as more than 45,000 rail workers take part in a further strike over pay and conditions.

Network Rail said only 20% of trains would run, with operators such as LNER and Cross Country affected.

It comes after UK-wide rail strikes on Thursday and walkouts on the London tube network on Friday.

The RMT union's Mick Lynch said more industrial action was "very likely".

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged Mr Lynch to put Network Rail's "fair 8% pay rise" offer to RMT members.

Writing in a letter posted on Twitter , Mr Shapps said: "People feel that this ongoing unnecessary strike action is a kick in the teeth to workers who cannot get to their own jobs now."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Lynch rejected these claims, saying "only half the people in this dispute" would come under the offer.

He also branded the proposed figure "puny", claimed it would apply over three years, and said members were "not ready to accept it".

On future action, he added: "I'll be talking to senior executives in the industry all through next week trying to create solutions to these problems and then we'll decide whether we need to take more industrial action - but I've got to say that it's very likely given the gap between us at this time."

Train and Tube strikes: What are the dates and where is affected?

The union has also accused the government of blocking the train companies from offering its workers a better deal.

Which trains are still running?

Only about one in five trains are running on Saturday, with some areas having no services all day.

Lines are only open until 18:30 for the limited services that are running - on what is now the sixth day of national rail strikes this summer.

In London, a bus strike is continuing on from Friday, with routes being particularly affected in south-west London and parts of Surrey.

ScotRail said the dispute did not involve its staff, but there could be a knock-on effect in Scotland as there are just 11 routes open.

Because rail strikes often leave trains in the wrong part of the country at the start of the next working day, Sunday travellers have been warned to expect some disruption - although 85% of services are expected to run as normal.

People look at departure information screens at Euston railway station

Which events are affected?

Music and football fans in particular have been advised to check whether they are still able to travel by train to concerts and sports fixtures - or whether they need to switch to travelling by car or coach.

The day's big music events attracting thousands of travelling fans include Becky Hill at Crystal Palace Park in London and the All Point's East festival in Victoria Park, London. Camp Bestival is taking place in Shropshire but it is thought that most of its 90,000 ticket-holders were already on site halfway through the four-day festival.

And of course every Saturday during the football season sees a mass migration of away fans.

Wolves fans have been travelling in their thousands to London for their match at Tottenham, while fans of some big Championship clubs such as Sunderland are having a second awayday this season disrupted by the strike action.

'I missed a football match'

Jonathan Winsky, from London, had bought train tickets to watch Watford FC play at Preston on Saturday afternoon, but he will now have to miss it.

He said: "As the strikes mean that the last train to Euston will depart five minutes before kick-off, I will now not be going to this match.

"I checked if there were any club coaches, but they had sold out.

"Last season, there were only two away matches I missed all season, Burnley and Wolves."

'I have to travel day early to see Coldplay'

Student Kristiana Zunde, 23 and from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, says the strikes have forced her to travel a day early to make it to a Coldplay concert in London.

Her train booking for Sunday was cancelled due to disruption, so on Saturday she is catching a five-hour coach from Leeds to the capital. The journey lasts two hours longer than the train she was due to catch.

Ms Zunde, who is blind, told the BBC: "When I get the train, I much prefer it. I can book assistance in advance, they meet me in the train station and help me get on the right train.

"You can't do that with coaches. I'm having to ask my friends to trek to the coach stations and meet me, in Leeds and London Victoria.

"I do understand why the strikes are going on, I really do, but at the same time it is frustrating for people who can't drive and for people whose only option is getting the train."

'I spent hundreds on emergency hotels'

Flight attendant Thomas Goodearl, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, says he has spent hundreds of pounds on emergency hotels in the last few weeks because he has not been able to get home due to rail strikes.

He told the BBC: "I came back from Vancouver into London on Thursday and there was no train leaving King's Cross so I had to stay in a hotel on Thursday night. On Friday morning I had no tubes. So I managed to get one of the last two seats on a coach back to my village.

"Sadly, I've lost close to £300 to £400 in the past few weeks on emergency hotels.

"It's that, or sleeping on Heathrow Airport floor, which I am not doing."

The 37-year-old added that he sympathised with striking rail workers and blamed the train companies for not making a deal with unions sooner.

Why are the strikes still ongoing?

The unions, including RMT, TSSA and Unite union members, are in dispute with the government and rail companies as they say salaries should increase to reflect the rising cost of living.

Network Rail, says its latest offer is worth more than 5% , although this depends on whether workers accept "modernising reforms".

However, the RMT says this is a "paltry sum".

Mick Lynch, general secretary of RMT, told the BBC: "We can deal with evolution of the railway, but what we can't have is imposition of change and detrimental changes to our members lives that will make them not able to change their bills."

Dan Panes from the RDG also told the BBC the aim was to get "conversation rather than confrontation".

What other strikes took place this week?

Staff at Network Rail took action on Thursday with rail strikes, while TfL said the Tube strikes on Friday resulted in usage of the underground being 90% down on the same day last week, with 98,345 entrances and exits on the London Underground network up until 10AM.

General secretary Mick Lynch apologised for disruption to the Tube, but claimed the union had been shut out of talks between the government, the Treasury, and Mayor Sadiq Khan's office.

Mr Lynch said: "They've got to get us around the table so we can talk about their issues, but at the minute there's been a big stalemate."

In response to Mr Lynch's claims, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he and the RMT union were "on the same side here, nobody wants the government to be attaching unreasonable conditions to our deal".

A spokesman for the Department for Transport accused union leaders are "opting to inflict misery" by disrupting travel.

Additional reporting Emma Pengelly and Sam Hancock

0330 094 0362

Email: [email protected]

Case Study: Travel during Industrial Action (in light of June 2022 strikes)

The Rail Ombudsman has worked through different periods of disruption to rail travel during industrial action. Some specific examples and learning points are noted below:

Consumer A had pre-purchased a train ticket for travel to an airport station. A then arrived at the station to find no services running due to strikes. A advised that they were travelling to catch a pre-booked flight from the airport and therefore took a taxi for which they were claiming compensation.
Consumer B held an Advance Single ticket purchased for Sunday travel in August 2021 to return from a holiday. They were informed that the first leg of their return journey (with the RSP) was cancelled and that no trains had been running on a Sunday for several months, due to industrial action. As a result of this, they incurred additional costs for a hotel stay and meals, to enable travel home the following day. B also claimed for additional travel costs because new tickets were purchased for part of the journey the next day.
Consumer C purchased Anytime Returns for travel with that RSP, a month in advance. C needed to be back by a particular time due to other commitments. C stated that their party returned early from an additional part of their trip because they became aware of strikes on the outward journey, and returned the day before they had planned to resulting in additional costs for a hotel night and the taxi costs to get to the hotel. C further claimed for unused car hire costs and accommodation costs lost due to travelling back a day early.
Consumer D complained that their return journey was cancelled due to strikes and therefore, they had to cancel their entire trip. The Consumer evidenced that that were unable to claim a refund from their prebooked hotel and were seeking compensation for this. The RSP refunded train tickets but advised that ticket acceptance had been arranged, so it was possible for the Consumer to complete their journey.
Consumer E commenced travel to an airport to catch a flight. The service terminated prematurely and the Consumer called the RSP’s helpline to obtain advice about onward travel. The Consumer stated that they were told to source alternative travel and retain the taxi receipt to obtain a refund. The RSP offered rail vouchers to the value of the Consumer’s taxi prior to Ombudsman escalation.
Consumer F held a First Class Advance Single ticket, but arrived at the station to find their service was cancelled due to strike action. The Consumer boarded the next service departing half an hour later, and arrived 30 minutes later than scheduled on a service with on first class available on it. The Consumer was seeking compensation for being late for an evening meal.

The Responses

Delay Repay or refunds were generally provided where due, prior to Rail Ombudsman escalation. In other cases, consumers’ claims were transferred to the appropriate rail provider. Some RSPs did offer full or partial compensation for additional costs, whilst others rejected them on the basis that there were notices warning of possible strike action and amended timetables were in place.

What the Ombudsman did

In every case, the Ombudsman will try to find agreement between the parties.

Where the RSP providing the service was also the retailer, the RSPs were asked for evidence of information provided during the booking process. In all cases, evidence was reviewed about information available before, during and after travel about industrial action. Where relevant, evidence of amended timetables was also requested, and independent data about train schedules would be considered alongside this.

The ticket terms

The starting point in considering entitlement is the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which states:

27.2 If the replacement is at short notice and you cannot complete your journey because we are unable to transport your luggage, articles, animals and/or cycles by road vehicle, and you therefore decided not to travel, you will be entitled to claim a refund of your Ticket(s) under Conditions 30.1 – 30.4 without any administration charge for the journey…

28.2 Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide overnight accommodation for you…

Conditions 30.1 –30.4 cover all Tickets other than Season Tickets, and also apply if you have begun your journey but are unable to complete it due to a delay to, or cancellation of, your service. In such cases, you are permitted to return to your point of origin and still get a refund.

Some Passenger Charters do advise that timetables are subject to change at short notice and note the RSP website as the best resource for information and/or National Rail Enquiries.

Booking confirmations will provide basic ticket information, and will direct consumers to the terms of the ticket, but may not have specific information relating to strike action and/or other possible disruption.

Mediation outcomes

In Consumer B’s case, the RSP offered and the Consumer accepted a contribution to their costs. Most cases required Adjudication despite some offers of partial compensation being put forward.

Adjudications

Where cases required Adjudication, the Rail Ombudsman reviewed the evidence provided by the RSP, the Consumer, in addition to online public information.

In some cases awards were made due to the following:

Lack of evidence to support information provided by the RSP to evidence that there was a published amended timetable, combined with limited options provided to the Consumer for alternative travel. For example, evidenced non-refundable hotel costs were awarded.
However, an offer of National Rail Vouchers was endorsed as an award, due to the lack of evidenced information available to the Consumer about alternative travel options at the time.
Consumer F was awarded the difference between standard and first class travel because they used alternative routes, but First Class was declassified.

In other cases, there was no award:

The Consumer asserted that they should not have been sold a ticket for travel during strike action. However, it was considered reasonable to sell tickets for travel a few weeks later, because there would be no way of knowing when the strikes would end, particularly as it was noted in the news that strikes were due to conclude at the end of that month, thus demonstrating that such strike action on the date of travel was not necessarily confirmed prior to purchase.
The Rail Ombudsman would expect certain information to be provided about strike action when purchasing a ticket. The RSP did advise what information they would have provided on their website if retailing that ticket, but as the tickets were purchased from a third party, we could not make the RSP directly responsible for retail information in this case.
The RSP retailer provided evidence of information displayed on their website since strikes had begun – this included notifications of the strikes, a dedicated strike webpage and banners on the homepage, and other pop-ups during the booking process.
If the Consumer was clearly aware of the timetable changes prior to the date of travel supported by other evidence of that amended timetable, the Rail Ombudsman found that the Consumer was able to use their ticket in line with the terms on which it was issued.
Insufficient evidence of an authorised taxi which was arguably not required.

Learning for the Rail Industry

The lack of information provided on booking confirmations was raised as part of the evidence in some cases arising from industrial action. The Rail Ombudsman recommended that the industry considers the format for booking confirmations to consider if the check before travel requirement could be made more explicit, and where possible, if specific notifications could be included as standard, such as strike action warnings.

Some claims for losses were blocked based on strike action alone, and it was recommended that there must always be consideration of wider rights under the Consumer Rights Act – such as provision of information when purchasing and travelling.

The industry expresses understanding of how important it is to provide timely and accurate information prior to and during strike action, regardless of the Consumer’s method of purchase.

Consumer learning

The Rail Ombudsman is unable to look into complaints about the strike action itself, but can review any related consumer issues.

Purchase considerations – If strike action is ongoing, tickets for travel on affected lines can still be sold, if a service is still available in the timetable – this may apply for tickets purchased in advance. If all services are suspended, and no other Operator covers that journey, then journey planners should be showing as no fares available for the selected journey. The affected Operator affected provides updated information to retailers, in accordance with industry processes. If a ticket in purchased in-person a ticket office clerk would generally be expected to advise if industrial action may affect a journey.

Key information source(s) – The primary source for updated information is journey planners, as booking confirmations do not always contain all travel warnings. Timetables can be subject to change, regardless of strike action. The ‘ Published Timetable of the Day’ can be changed up to 22:00 the previous day, in line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel. Any Delay Repay is measured against this, as opposed to any timetable in place when purchasing a ticket.

Evidence – As in previous cases studies, the Rail Ombudsman urges consumers to always retain evidence of costs; and where possible, seek advice from staff at stations or via the telephone or other media before taking an alternative route. If a taxi has not been authorised, it may not be paid so consumers are advised to ensure they get evidence of any such pre-authorisation, where applicable and possible.

Assistance bookings – If travelling with prebooked assistance, and no information about alternative travel is forthcoming, then consumers are advised to contact the RSP with whom they are due to travel with first, as it is the relevant station and RSP’s responsibility to advise during disruption. It is noted that specific information was provided by most service provider websites about assistance bookings during strikes in June 2022. For example, the Rail Ombudsman has noted that Consumers affected by the June 2020 strikes were advised in June that RSPs would be in touch directly with all affected assistance bookings and we would evaluate to what extent this was the case in any claim brought to the Rail Ombudsman on this point.

Telephone: 0330 094 0362 SMS/Text//WhatsApp: 07427 580 060 Email: [email protected] X: @RailOmbudsman Post: FREEPOST – RAIL OMBUDSMAN

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Rail strikes: List of March and April dates and train lines affected as union reveals more industrial action

The spring season of rail disruption will kick off on 15 March with strikes on the underground, followed by RMT workers walking out on 16 March. Here's the latest on what lines will be disrupted and when.

Tuesday 14 March 2023 14:58, UK

File photo dated 05/01/23 of Southeastern trains in sidings at Ramsgate station in Kent during a strike by train drivers from the Aslef union, in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions. Train operating companies have offered the drivers' union a two-year pay deal in a bid to resolve the bitter dispute which has led to a series of strikes. The Rail Delivery Group said it was offering a "landmark outline proposal" that would deliver more reliable services for passengers, in exchange for a p

Rail workers will strike again on four dates in March and April.

Update: RMT suspends plans for rail strikes on 30 March and 1 April

On 16 March, 18 March, 30 March and 1 April members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union working for 14 train companies will strike .

These walkouts will each last 24 hours , causing severe disruption to travel on the strike days and affecting journeys on the days either side.

RMT members working for National Rail will also take strike action on 16 March, running until 2am on 17 March.

On 15 March, the tube will grind to a halt as London Underground drivers, represented by Aslef, and other tube workers, represented by the RMT, walk out.

The fresh strike dates are the latest in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions that has disrupted passenger journeys since June.

In mid-February, RMT rejected the terms offered by Network Rail and 14 train operators on the grounds they "did not meet the needs of members on pay, job security or working conditions".

Here are the lines and times affected. Information will be updated as rail operators publish details:

London Underground - "little or no service is expected on the tube network" on 15 March while on 16 March services will start later than normal

London Overground - services should run as normal on 15 and 16 March but some stations may be closed and services are expected to be busier on Wednesday

Elizabeth Line - trains will be running on 15 March but will be "much busier" than normal with queuing systems possible. On 16 March some services will start later and finish earlier

DLR - services are expected to run as normal on 15 and 16 March

East Midlands Railway - the company says it is "reviewing" how the strikes will affect services, with information on timetables and ticketing available on its website soon

Great Western Railway - advises a revised timetable will be in place and some parts of the network will have no trains running

Avanti West Coast - timetable and service will be "reduced significantly", with customers told any trains that do run will be very busy

LNER - the company says it is "currently reviewing how these proposed strikes will impact our trains"

CrossCountry - the company is "currently assessing" how trains will be impacted but says a "limited service" will be in place

TransPennine Express - "no or very limited services on strike days" with customers advised to travel only if their journey is "absolutely essential". A reduced timetable the day after strikes means people should avoid travel on these days "where possible"

Greater Anglia - firm repeats its earlier advice to "avoid travelling" and that services will be "severely reduced and disrupted", with trains starting later and finishing earlier than normal

c2c - "on the c2c route, we will operate a severely reduced service with trains running between 07.30-18.30 only"

Chiltern Railways - strikes "will affect services on and around the strike days" with a different timetable on strike days

Southern Rail - the railway will have limited opening hours with customers advised to avoid travel

Great Northern - advice is the same as Southern Rail

Thameslink - firm repeats advice to avoid travel on strike days and expect disruption on the day after

Gatwick Express - "severe disruption" expected on RMT strike days.

West Midlands Railway - expects to run a "very limited service" with no trains on some parts of the network

Southeastern - there will be no Southeastern, Southern or Thameslink train services from the company's station on strike days

Northern - strike action will "significantly impact our ability to run a train service", the company says

South Western Railway - the company is "still determining" how the industrial action will impact services, with customers advised to check back on the website.

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David Pecker returns to witness stand in Trump's hush money trial

May train strikes: how will the next rail drivers’ walk-out affect passengers.

National rail strikes by train drivers will enter a third summer with a series of “rolling” walk-outs, one region at a time, during May .