Commuters who use Swansea train station have spoken of the disruption the upcoming strike on June 21, 23 and 25 will have on their lives. Half of the UK's rail lines will be closed during next week's strikes, Network Rail has said, with vast areas of Wales being hit by the walkouts by train staff. Swansea, Bridgend, Carmarthen, Aberystwyth, Llandudno, Holyhead and Pwllheli are among the areas that will receive no passenger services. You can see a map of which services will be affected by clicking here.
Staff working for Transport for Wales are not affected by the strike. But Rail, Maritime and Transport Union staff working for Network Rail, which manages the infrastructure across the UK, are going on strike, meaning services across the UK are all affected. Only services in Transport for Wales routes in one part of the Valleys and those on the mainline into Wales as far as Cardiff will be operating. There will be no services west of Cardiff.
There is also expected to be disruption on the days prior and after the industrial action, with early morning services in particular likely to be affected. Passengers heading on their commutes from Swansea this morning - June 16 - stopped to speak to WalesOnline to share their thoughts on the strike, and how it will impact on their lives. Get Swansea stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
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Chris Healy works in Port Talbot as a chef, commuting there from his home in Swansea. The 43-year-old said: "On a selfish level it's inconvenient, but as a whole obviously there is reasoning behind the strike. There's a massive economical struggle nationwide, so it is what it is. It's just inconvenient. I've spoken to the people I work for and it's out of my hands. I'm going to play it by ear and plan each day as it comes. I'm just one person, there's a lot of people out there affected by this."
Nick Prichard works at a housing association and has to commute to either Birmingham or London weekly. The 41-year-old explained: "It's just an inconvenience. Those days I would ordinarily travel I'll be able to work from home, but it has impacted on travel plans. It is nationwide, and what impacts them impacts us. It impacts the whole community. It's a real inconvenience but I think it will be the first of many. I do understand it. I think they should be paid fairly for what they do but with any strike, there is never a win win situation." Find out here about the cheapest petrol prices near you.
Virgin Media employee Stephen Griffiths was planning on travelling to London on June 21 to attend a meeting there. He said: "I'm going to have to drive now. I generally understand the strike and the reasons behind it, with working conditions and pay and so on, and as a one-off it doesn't bother me that much, if it happens regularly it might start to become problematic."
Ali Bazzoun travels from Swansea to Cardiff University where he studies politics and history. He was on his way to a music festival when he spoke to us, but he said the strike would impact on his trip. He said: "Some train staff get underpaid, I understand and respect staff going on strike, even though it's going to affect me personally. It would ordinarily impact on me getting to university but I'm going to a festival and coming back on the 20th, which I think is going to cause some difficulties."
Another commuter, Lauren Baker, added: "I travel from Port Talbot every day, I work in Swansea at a contact centre. I've only just come back to work after time off, and now I'm going to have to work from home. It will affect getting to work." You can read more stories about Swansea here.
Members of the RMT at Network Rail and 13 train operators are to strike for three days next week in similar disputes over pay, jobs and pensions. Customers with existing non-season tickets valid for travel from June 21 to June 25 can use those tickets anytime between June 20 and June 27.
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, TfW has suspended sales of Advance tickets for the first three strike dates in order to minimise the number of people disrupted. Customers are advised to continue to check the TfW or Traveline websites, and those of other operators, for updates.
