Thirteen months on from the start of the first national rail strikes since the 1980s, the disputes over pay, jobs and working conditions appear as intractable as ever. July has seen the resumption of industrial action aimed at more than a dozen train operators by both main rail unions.
In a separate dispute, staff working for the London Underground will walk out for six days in late July in a row over over pensions, job cuts and what the RMT union calls “attacks on working conditions”.
In the national rail disputes, the biggest union, the RMT, and Aslef, representing train drivers, say many of their members have not had a pay rise for four years. They are demanding decent, no-strings increases that take into account the high level of inflation. The unions are prepared to discuss reforms, but these must be negotiated separately with commensurate boosts to pay.
Train operators and ministers – who must sign off any deal – insist modernisation is essential following the collapse of rail revenue, in particular the loss of much of the “bedrock” of season ticket sales since the Covid pandemic.
Caught in the middle: the long-suffering passenger. Since June 2022, national rail strikes and other forms of industrial action have scuppered the travel plans of tens of millions of train passengers. Stoppages have been called frequently, causing massive disruption and making advance travel planning difficult.
Transport for Wales and ScotRail are not involved and will run normal services, but some of the affected operators usually run trains in Wales and Scotland.
These are the key questions and answers.
Who is taking industrial action, and when?
The train drivers’ union, Aslef, is mounting “action short of a strike” in the shape of Monday-to-Saturday overtime bans. It carried out the first six-day walk-out from 3 to 8 July. The next is 17 to 22 July inclusive.
Hundreds of trains are likely to be cancelled each day.
Later in the month the biggest rail union, the RMT, will call 20,000 of its members out on strike on Thursday 20, Saturday 22 and Saturday 29 July. The first two dates coincide with the Aslef overtime bans.
The late July walk-outs are likely to cause widespread cancellations at the start of the main summer school holidays in England.
A London Underground strike, also involving members of the RMT, will run from Sunday 23 to Friday 28 July. It is sandwiched between two of the national walk-outs called by the same union.
Which train operators are involved the national disputes?
The RMT strikes and Aslef overtime ban are aimed at rail firms contracted by the Department for Transport. They include the leading intercity operators:
- Avanti West Coast
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- LNER
- TransPennine Express
Most London commuter operators will be hit:
- C2C (not involved in the Aslef action)
- Greater Anglia
- GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)
- Southeastern
- South Western Railway
Operators focusing on the Midlands and north of England will be affected:
- Chiltern Railways
- Northern Trains
- West Midlands Trains
What is happening about the London Underground?
The RMT plans a walk-out from Sunday 23 July until Friday 28 July. General secretary Mick Lynch says: “This week of action will shut down the London Underground and show just how important the work of our members is.”
The union claims 600 jobs are scheduled to be axed, leading to “more unstaffed stations and a lowering of safety standards”. The union says bosses “plan to make London Underground staff poorer in retirement”.
London Overground and the Elizabeth Line are unaffected by the planned industrial action. But routes that offer alternatives to strike-hit routes, such as Stratford, Walthamstow Central and Ealing Broadway to central London, are likely to be especially busy during the walk-outs by RMT members working for train operators and the London Underground,
Why were the July dates chosen?
Like any unions, the RMT and Aslef are seeking the biggest impact – ie to cause as much disruption as they can. Aslef’s first overtime ban coincided with the first week of the Wimbledon tennis championships in southwest London.
The second Aslef overtime ban will affect passengers hoping to travel to the first four days of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia, which begins on Wednesday 19 July at Old Trafford in Manchester.
The RMT union’s national walk-outs are targeting what are likely to be three of the busiest days of the month.
Many families will be on the move at the start of school holidays on 20 and 22 July; those dates also fall during the Open golf championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
The 29 July strike will hit journeys to and from holiday resorts as well as cricket fans travelling to London for the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval.
The strike days for the London Underground, from 23 to 28 July, are intended to disrupt travel in the capital for as long as possible. In combination, passengers in the capital who depend on both national rail and the Tube will be hit by strikes on nine out of 10 days between 20 and 29 July.
How will the train drivers’ overtime ban affecting travellers?
All train operators rely on a certain amount of overtime/rest-day working to operate their usual timetables. The impact of the Aslef action from 17 to 22 July will vary according to how much the individual train operator depends on overtime, and also staff sickness levels.
For the first Aslef overtime ban, several operators introduced emergency timetables. A similar pattern is expected in the next round.
South Western Railway, which runs to and from Britain’s busiest rail station, London Waterloo, said: “Instead of making numerous short-notice amendments and cancellations to our standard timetabled services for this week, we have decided to provide greater certainty for our customers by creating an amended timetable that we have a high degree of confidence we can reliably and safely deliver each day.
“Overall, services will usually be reduced to hourly in off-peak periods with a small number of cancellations during the morning and evening peaks. Some first and last trains may also be cancelled.”
GTR, the biggest rail firm involved by passenger numbers, also operated a reduced timetable throughout the Aslef action from 3 to 8 July.
No Gatwick Express ran, while Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink passengers operated fewer trains.
TransPennine Express, the intercity operator in northern England and southern Scotland, said: “We expect some services to start later and finish earlier than usual, and some journeys may be altered late or on the day of travel.”
Other operators reported little impact.
Why is Aslef taking industrial action?
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “Once again we find ourselves with no alternative but to take this action. We have continually come to the negotiating table in good faith, seeking to resolve the dispute.
“Sadly, it is clear from the actions of both the train operating companies and the government that they do not want an end to the dispute. Their goals appear to be to continue industrial strife and to do down our industry.
“We don’t want to inconvenience the public. We just want to see our members paid fairly during a cost of living crisis when inflation is running at above 10 per cent, and to not see our terms and conditions taken away.
“It’s time for the government and the companies to think again and look for a resolution.”
Why is the RMT striking nationally?
The RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has described the latest offer from the train operators – represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) – as “substandard”. He said: “This latest phase of action will show the country just how important railway staff are to the running of the rail industry.
”The government continues to shackle the companies and will not allow them to put forward a package that can settle this dispute.
“RMT will continue its industrial campaign until we reach a negotiated settlement on pay, working conditions and job security.
The RMT has staged walk-outs on 28 days in the current wave of strikes, with Aslef stopping work on 13 previous occasions.
What is the likely effect of the RMT national rail strike?
On each of the strike days, thousands of trains will be cancelled, wrecking travel plans for millions of passengers. Some lines will see no services, and where trains are running they are likely to start later, be less frequent and finish earlier than normal.
All operators are likely to run some trains. LNER will run a regular service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh via Yorkshire and northeast England, while Avanti West Coast is likely to operate a basic service, with one train an hour from each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow to London Euston.
Great Western Railway will run between London Paddington, South Wales (as far as Cardiff Central) and Devon.
Shorter distance services around the big cities are likely to be hard hit.
Passengers can expect normal service on:
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Grand Central
- Heathrow Express
- Hull Trains
- London Overground
- Lumo
- Merseyrail
- ScotRail
- Transport for Wales
Will airport trains run?
The Gatwick Express between the Sussex airport and London is unlikely to operate during the Aslef overtime ban, but Southern and Thameslink trains are available.
Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham and Manchester airports will have some trains during the RMT walk-outs. Stansted Airport is likely to have trains to and from London Liverpool Street every hour from around 7am until the evening.
Heathrow airport is unaffected by the national walk-outs: it is served by the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line, as well as the London Underground. But during the RMT Tube strike against Transport for London, the airport’s Tube link on the Piccadilly Line is likely to be suspended – in common with almost all other Underground services
Will Eurostar be affected?
No, but connections to and from the train operator’s main hub at London St Pancras International will be difficult because union members working for all three domestic train operators at the station (East Midlands Railway, Southeastern and Thameslink) serving the station will walk out. On London Underground strike days, 23-28 July, access will also be difficult.
What do the train operators say?
A spokesman for the RDG said: “More strikes are totally unnecessary. After a year of industrial action all the RMT has achieved is losing their members more money than they would have received in the pay offers they refused to put to put out to a vote, despite having agreed the terms with the negotiators the room.
“We have now made three offers that the RMT executive have blocked without a convincing explanation. We remain open to talks and we have said repeatedly that we want to give our people a pay rise.
“But until the union leadership and executive is united in what it wants and engages in good faith with the 30 per cent shortfall in revenue the industry is continuing to grapple with post-Covid, it is difficult to move forward.
“Sadly our staff, our customers and the communities across the country which rely on a thriving railway are the ones that are suffering as a result.”
What does the government say?
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “The RMT leadership’s decision to call strikes targeting two iconic international sporting events, as children and families begin their summer holidays, will disrupt people’s plans across the country.
“After a year of industrial action, passengers and rail workers alike are growing tired of union bosses playing politics with their lives.
“It’s high time the union leaders realised that strikes no longer have the impact they once did and are simply driving people away from the railway.”
Could the industrial action be called off?
Such is the antipathy between the parties that it seems most unlikely.
I have a ticket booked for one of the RMT national strike days. What can I do?
Passengers with Advance, Anytime or Off-Peak tickets can have their ticket refunded with no fee if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.
Train operators are likely to offer flexibility to travel on a wide range of non-strike days.
Passengers with season tickets who do not travel can claim compensation for the strike dates through Delay Repay.
What are the alternatives?
As always, long-distance coach operators – National Express, Megabus and Flixbus – will keep running, though seats are becoming scarce and fares are rising.
