Rail services in Wales will be affected later in June as workers stage three days of strike action. Thousands of rail employees are set to go on strike later this month as a result of disputes over pay and jobs, with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) describing it as "the biggest railway strike in a generation".
The strikes are due to take place across three days on Tuesday, June 21, Thursday, June 23 and Saturday, June 25. Last month, a ballot of 40,000 members led Network Rail staff along with 13 train operating companies including Great Western Railway to conclude that full-scale industrial action was needed.
The industrial action resulting from the dispute between RMT and Network Rail will disrupt the rail network across the whole of the UK. Rail staff in Wales at Transport for Wales were not involved in the ballot as there is no ongoing disputes with the Welsh Government, but the rail company will be unable to operate its services on Network Rail infrastructure as a result of the strike action.
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The strikes threaten widespread travel disruption during a number of major events, including concerts, test match cricket and Glastonbury festival. Get the latest news from across Wales sent straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletters.
It means the majority of rail services across the Wales and Borders network will be suspended, with the exception of services on the Core Valley Lines (CVL) north of Radyr in south Wales. There will be no services on the CVL routes to Rhymney, Coryton, Cardiff Bay and the City Line as signalling for those lines is operated by Network Rail.
However, there will be services to and from Radyr to Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil (reduced to an hourly service in each direction), with a bus service connection to Cardiff Central Station. These services are expected to be very busy.
There is also expected to be disruption on the days prior and after the industrial action. Transport for Wales have said that they will release more information regarding this disruption "as soon as possible".
Avanti, Cross Country and Great Western Railway also run services in Wales and are affected, while Network Rail controls the signalling. However, details for which services will run over the strike action have yet to be confirmed.
The rail operators involved are:
Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
Greater Anglia
LNER
East Midlands Railway
c2c
Great Western Railway
Northern Trains
Southeastern
South Western Railway
Transpennine Express
Avanti West Coast
West Midlands Trains
Customers with existing non-season tickets valid for travel from Tuesday 21 June to Saturday 25 June can use those tickets anytime between Monday 20 June and Monday 27 June. Alternatively, customers can claim a full refund, with no admin fee charged. Season ticket holders can apply for compensation via Delay Repay.
In the meantime, Transport for Wales are suspending sales of advance tickets for the first three strike dates to minimise the number of people disrupted. Customers are advised to continue checking their website and those of other operators for updates.
Union members voted overwhelmingly for action last month in growing rows over pay and job losses. The RMT said rail staff who worked through the pandemic were facing pay freezes and hundreds of job cuts. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously. 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 when inflation is at 11.1% and rising."
Mr Lynch added: "Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system. [The union is] open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways".
The union said more than 50,000 railway workers will walk out on June 21, adding that the action will affect the national railway network for the entire week. Andrew Haines, Network Rail's chief executive, said the organisation was "doing everything we can" to avoid the strike action.
"There are two weeks until the first strike is planned. We will use this time to keep talking to our unions and, through compromise and common sense on both sides, we hope to find a solution and avoid the damage that strike action would cause all involved," he said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described the move as "incredibly disappointing", adding: "The pandemic has changed travel habits - with 25% fewer ticket sales and the taxpayer stepping in to keep the railways running at a cost of £16 billion, equivalent to £600 per household. We must act now to put the industry on a sustainable footing. We are working with industry to reduce disruption caused by strike action, but unions are jumping the gun by announcing this when talks have only just begun."
