Two days of strike action by three rail unions are set to seriously impact on train services in the Bristol area on Thursday and Saturday this week, with no GWR trains at all running in or out of Temple Meads on Saturday (August 20). Other operators including CrossCountry services are also affected.
The RMT, Aslef and TSSA unions are taking industrial action in a wide-ranging dispute with the privatised rail franchise companies, including GWR, over issues of safety, staffing and pay. GWR is warning passengers that it is likely their train service will be cancelled, and they are advising people to make alternative arrangements on Thursday and Saturday, but also to check before they set off on Friday and Sunday as the strike impacts services on other days too.
Services running on the two strike days will operate only between 7am and 6.30pm, and the last trains will leave much earlier. We've put together a guide below to how this will impact Bristol.
Read more: The story behind Bristol's empty 'ghost' street
Thursday
On Thursday, August 18, there will be no services at all on the Bristol commuter line that goes from Severn Beach to Temple Meads, or on the the Wessex main line that goes from Portsmouth to Cardiff, calling at stations either side of Bristol and at Temple Meads. Services on the main line between Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway and Paddington in London will be severely disrupted, but GWR said there will be some trains running.
"Where trains are able to operate, they will be extremely busy," said a GWR spokesperson. "Passengers are advised to find alternative ways to travel on these days. Only travel if absolutely necessary. The majority of train services will not operate and there will be no services on many routes. GWR will operate as many trains as possible during the strike action."
There will also be no services in Cornwall at all, no services on the South Wales main line past Cardiff, on the Heart of Wessex Line to Weymouth, on the Trans Wilts line between Swindon and Salisbury, on the line between Swindon and Gloucester and no branch line services in Devon.
GWR says a "significantly limited service will operate" and it has urged passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary. No rail services will operate on the following routes:
- All lines in Cornwall, including all branch lines
- West of Exeter towards Plymouth/Cornwall
- All branch lines in Devon (Barnstaple, Exmouth, Paignton, Okehampton)
- South Wales main line (Carmarthen/Swansea–Cardiff Central)
- Berks & Hants line (Reading–Taunton via Castle Cary)
- Wessex main line (Bath Spa–Portsmouth Harbour)
- Heart of Wessex line (Westbury–Weymouth)
- TransWilts line (Swindon–Westbury via Melksham)
- Severn Beach line (Bristol Temple Meads–Severn Beach)
- North Cotswolds line (Hereford/Worcester–Oxford)
- South Cotswolds line (Cheltenham Spa–Swindon)
- Worcester/Gloucester
- Greenford branch line
- North Downs line (Reading–Gatwick Airport)
Saturday
There will be even more cancelled services on Saturday, and no GWR services at all running to or from Bristol Temple Meads. No rail services will operate on the following routes, according to GWR:
- No trains will operate in/out of Bristol Temple Meads
- Between Bristol Temple Meads to Swindon
- Between Bristol and Gloucester
- Between Bristol and Taunton
- All lines in Cornwall, including all branch lines
- West of Newton Abbot (change at Exeter) towards Plymouth/Cornwall
- All branch lines in Devon (Barnstaple, Exmouth, Paignton, Okehampton)
- South Wales main line (Carmarthen/Swansea–Cardiff Central)
- Berks & Hants line (between Reading–Bruton)
- Wessex main line (Bath Spa–Portsmouth Harbour)
- Heart of Wessex line (Westbury–Weymouth)
- TransWilts line (trains will only operate non-stop between Swindon and Westbury)
- Severn Beach line (Bristol Temple Meads–Severn Beach)
- North Cotswolds line (Hereford/Worcester–Oxford)
- South Cotswolds line (Cheltenham Spa–Swindon)
- Worcester/Gloucester
- Greenford branch line
- North Downs line (Reading–Gatwick Airport)
CrossCountry's map also suggests that none of its trains will be serving Temple Meads on Saturday. Bristol Live is seeking clarity in which train operators, if any, will be serving the main Bristol station that day.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said many of its members have not had a pay rise since 2019. He said: “We will fight to maintain the pay, terms and conditions, and the pensions of our members. The train companies are doing very well out of Britain’s railways – with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers – and train drivers are not going to work longer for less.
“We’re not asking for a pay rise. We’re asking for our pay not to be cut for a third year in a row. We’ve accepted real-terms pay cuts for two or three years now, but whilst huge sums of money continue to slosh around our industry, we won’t accept another cut for another year."
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