How will this week’s rail strikes affect each train operator?

Strikes will affect some services on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Neil Lancefield
Tuesday 30 May 2023 13:41 BST
Train services are being hit by more strike action this week (James Manning/PA)
Train services are being hit by more strike action this week (James Manning/PA) (PA Archive)

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Train services are being hit by more strike action this week.

Train drivers who are members of Aslef will walk out on Wednesday and Saturday, while workers who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will strike on Friday.

Here is a breakdown of each operator’s plan for strike days:

– Avanti West Coast

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: One train per hour will run in each direction between London Euston and each of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston, with a limited service to and from Glasgow.

There will be no services to or from North Wales, Shrewsbury, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent or Edinburgh, while Macclesfield station will be closed.

The first train of the day from Euston will depart at around 8am, and the last will leave shortly after 5pm.

Saturday: No trains.

– c2c

Wednesday: Usual timetable.

Friday: No major impact but 12-carriage trains will not stop at Limehouse, east London.

Saturday: Usual timetable.

– Caledonian Sleeper

Wednesday: Usual timetable.

Friday: All services will be operating via the East Coast Main Line due to engineering works.

Saturday: The Caledonian Sleeper does not operate on Saturday nights.

– Chiltern Railways

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: Services will be limited to one train per hour from around 8am until 10pm in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Banbury, Oxford and Aylesbury via High Wycombe; and between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway.

No trains will run between Banbury and each of Birmingham and Stourbridge Junction, or between Hatton and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Saturday: No trains.

– CrossCountry

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A limited service will operate. No trains will run between Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central or Nottingham.

Saturday: No trains.

– East Midlands Railway

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: Services will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

They will be limited to just one train per hour in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Nottingham, Sheffield and Corby, as well as a handful of regional routes such as between Leicester and Lincoln.

Saturday: No trains.

– Elizabeth line

Wednesday: Usual timetable.

Friday: The Elizabeth line is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be some alterations to its services.

These include no trains between Maidenhead and Reading before 7am or after 7pm, and no trains between Brentwood and Shenfield from 11.30pm.

Saturday: Usual timetable.

– Gatwick Express

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: No trains but Southern and Thameslink will serve Gatwick Airport until early afternoon.

Saturday: No trains.

– Grand Central

Wednesday: Grand Central is not involved in the industrial dispute with Aslef but there will be minor alterations to its services due to engineering work.

Friday: Grand Central is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be minor alterations to its services.

Saturday: Usual timetable.

– Great Northern

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm. There will be no trains between Ely and King’s Lynn.

Saturday: No trains.

– Great Western Railway

Wednesday and Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

The only open routes will be between: London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads; Reading and Didcot; Reading and Basingstoke; Reading and Redhill; Westbury and Swindon; Cardiff and Bristol; Exeter and Barnstaple; Plymouth and Gunnislake; and Penzance and St Ives.

The Night Riviera sleeper service is cancelled.

Friday: More routes will be open compared with Wednesday, including additions such as between London Paddington and Cardiff; London Paddington and Plymouth; and Slough and Windsor.

– Greater Anglia

Wednesday: A reduced service will run and only from 7am, with last trains earlier than normal.

The only routes open will be between London Liverpool Street and each of Cambridge, Colchester, Norwich and Southend Victoria.

Friday: Trains will run between 7am and 11pm.

Some routes will have a reduced frequency, but most will have a normal or near-normal service.

Saturday: A reduced service will run and only from 7am, with last trains earlier than normal.

Most routes will be closed, including between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge.

– Heathrow Express

Wednesday: An hourly service between 7am and 7pm.

Friday: Usual timetable.

Saturday: No trains.

– Hull Trains

All strike days: Usual timetable.

– London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

All strike days: A limited timetable will operate and only between London King’s Cross and both Edinburgh and Leeds.

– London Northwestern Railway

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm.

The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of London Euston, Birmingham International and Liverpool Lime Street.

Saturday: No trains.

– London Overground

Wednesday and Friday: London Overground is not involved in the industrial disputes but there will be minor alterations to some services.

Saturday: Usual timetable

– Lumo

All strike days: Usual timetable.

– Merseyrail

All strike days: Usual timetable.

– Northern

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: Only a handful of routes will be open, such as between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester; Leeds and York; and Darlington and Saltburn.

Saturday: No trains.

– ScotRail

All strike days: Usual timetable.

– South Western Railway

Wednesday: Services will be reduced and there will be no trains on the Isle of Wight.

Friday: A reduced service will operate and only between 7am and 7pm.

Saturday: Services will be reduced and there will be no trains on the Isle of Wight.

– Southeastern

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A reduced service will operate, with some routes closed.

Saturday: No trains.

– Southern

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A reduced service will operate and only between 7am and 7pm.

No trains will run between Hemel Hempstead and Clapham Junction; London Bridge and Norwood Junction; Southampton Central and Barnham; and Eastbourne and Ashford International.

Saturday: No trains.

– Stansted Express

Wednesday and Saturday: Frequencies will be halved to one train per hour in each direction.

Friday: Services will not start until after 7am.

– Thameslink

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A reduced service will operate and only between 7am and 7pm.

Services will be split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Blackfriars.

Saturday: No trains.

– TransPennine Express

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A reduced timetable will operate and only between Liverpool Lime Street and each of Preston and York; and between Sheffield and Cleethorpes.

Saturday: No trains.

– Transport for Wales

All strike days: Transport for Wales is not involved in the industrial disputes but some of its services will be amended.

West Midlands Railway

Wednesday: No trains.

Friday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm.

The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of Wolverhampton, Rugeley Trent Valley, Lichfield Trent Valley, Redditch and Bromsgrove; between Kidderminster and Whitlocks End/Dorridge via Birmingham Snow Hill; and between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town.

Saturday: No trains.

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