People have been urged not to travel by train unless absolutely necessary on Tuesday, as strikes across train companies are set to cause major disruption.
The RMT has announced industrial action on June 21, 23, and 25, coordinating with train companies and Network Rail.
More than 50,000 workers will walk out, and as a result, rail services across the UK will be disrupted, with most train lines operating with severely reduced services.
It comes as the TSSA served notice to ballot hundreds of workers on Southeastern trains services.
The union said it had demanded a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
The ballot opens on June 23 and closes on July 11, so action could start from July 25.
The TSSA is balloting hundreds of its members in NR, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, Northern, LNER and C2C.
Find out below which train companies will be affected by the train strike below and read here for all the details of the tube strike.
Why are there rail strikes?
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) is striking for three days due to the “inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement: "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 11.1pc and rising.
"Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.”
He said: "Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This unfairness is fuelling our members’ anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.
"RMT 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."
What has Network Rail said?
Network Rail route director Mark Killick said: “We’re so sorry for the disruption and we know how difficult this will be for our customers so soon after the pandemic.
“We’ve trained 250 staff so we can keep some of the busiest lines open, focussing our resources on the routes that can keep the largest numbers of customers and freight moving and serving vital locations such as hospitals. That said, we will not compromise on safety and the strike does mean that large parts of the network will be closed.
“We are continuing to work with unions to find a solution and will keep doing so. But we also have to be honest and accept that we have to change the way we work, to reflect the changes in society and travel patterns post pandemic.
“Again, I’d like to apologise to everyone who finds their journeys disrupted and urge our customers to check before they travel.”
Which train lines are affected by the strikes?
Thirteen train operators will be directly impacted by the strikes, while some routes operated by other companies will also be disrupted.
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway (GWR)
- Greater Anglia
- London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern Railway
- South Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast will be running a “significantly reduced” timetable on June 21, 23, and 25. Around a quarter of services will run and some stations will be closed on strike days. Additionally, Avanti West Coast services will begin later and end earlier.
The train company says: “These trains are expected to be very busy, so we strongly advise to only travel by rail if necessary on strike days.
“If not, please plan ahead as your journey will probably be severely disrupted. Train travel on days either side of the strike days is also likely to be affected.”
c2c
c2c is expecting “significant disruption” on the strike days, as well as the days in between.
The train company will run a reduced service from 7.30am until 6.30pm, which will equate to less than a third of normal service levels.
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways will run a “very significantly reduced” timetable from June 21 until June 25. There will be “extremely limited” availability of staff and fewer than a third of services will operate.
Furthermore, three will be no replacement buses, and travel will also be impacted on non-strike days.
Chiltern Railways asks customers to “seriously consider the necessity of their journey” from Tuesday until Saturday.
Cross Country Trains
Cross Country Trains will run a “significantly reduced service” on June 21, 23, and 25, while travel on non-strike days will also be affected.
The train company says: “We’re disappointed with this action by the RMT which we believe to be premature, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience it will cause.”
Cross Country Trains will only run a very limited service between Bristol Parkway and Plymouth, and Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Leeds, York and Newcastle, and a reduced service between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly.
East Midlands Railway
East Midlands Railway says it has been working on contingency plans to “provide as many services as possible,” although services will be reduced.
Services will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm, with some routes operating with just one train per hour. Other routes will close completely.
Will Rogers, Managing Director for EMR said: “We are extremely disappointed the RMT have decided to strike on the 21, 23 and 25 June. â¯This is the wrong decision for the railway and communities we serve.
“There will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services on strike days and other lines will have a reduced level of service. I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway will operate with a “significantly reduced” timetable with only 30% of services operating on strike days and 50% on non-strike days.
Services in Cornwall and Devon and on the South Wales main line, Heart of Wessex line, Severn Beach line, North Cotswolds line, and South Cotswolds line will not run on strike days.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We very much welcome the opportunity to continue to talk with the RMT to avert strike action.
“Any strike will impact on customers’ journeys and can only damage the post-covid recovery everyone at GWR has been working to win back, while at the same time making it more difficult to deliver the changes we need to secure jobs and services for the future.
“I’m hopeful the RMT will step back, however colleagues have been working hard to put contingency plans in place and give certainty to customers who need to travel. The priority will be to keep trains running and customers moving safely, but changes will be needed to allow that to happen and customers may wish to alter their plans.”
Greater Anglia
Greater Anglia will be impacted by both the RMT strike and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) strike on June 23.
The train company will not run services on its regional and branch lines on June 21, 23, or 25. However, Greater Anglia will be running a very limited service on some routes to and from London Liverpool Street.
Services will also be disrupted on non-strike days, including June 20, 22, 24, and 26.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “Please only travel if it’s absolutely necessary on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when strikes are due to take place.
“If you do travel, you should expect severe disruption, so plan ahead and make alternative arrangements to travel if you can. Please also check travel times for any journeys planned for the days before and after any strike action.
“We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers by this industrial action.”
London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) will run around 38% of their usual trains on strike days, and these trains are expected to be much busier than usual.
Some routes will run with a limited service, while some routes will be closed.
LNER says: “If you can avoid travelling over this period we recommend doing so.”
Northern Railway
Northern Railway is urging its customers to not travel between June 21 and June 26.
There will be extremely limited availability of staff, so most routes won’t be in service, and there will not be a replacement bus service.
Where Northern Railway can operate trains, the services will be very limited, starting much later and ending much earlier than usual.
South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway is urging customers to “only travel by rail if necessary.” Most stations and routes will be closed, and there will be a severely reduced service, with significant disruption across the network.
Services will also be affected on non-strike days, especially in the mornings. There will be no services to or from London Victoria or Charing Cross.
South Western Railway
South Western Railway has urged people to only use their services between June 21 and June 26 if “absolutely necessary.”
On June 21, 23, and 25, a severely reduced service will run and significant parts of the network will be closed. For those who absolutely have to travel, a severely limited service will run between 7.15am and 6.30pm. There will be a Sunday-level of service on June 22, 24, and 26.
There will be four trains per hour between London Waterloo and Woking, and two trains per hour between London Waterloo and Basingstoke.
South Western Railway’s Managing Director, Claire Mann, said: “The sheer scale of this planned industrial action severely limits the number of trains we can run and routes we can serve, which is reflected in the reduced timetable we have published today.
“With this disruption set to be so considerable, I regretfully urge customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary between June 21 and June 26.
“I am sorry these strikes will cause such disruption and am grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging nationwide action to an end.”
TransPennine Express (TPE)
TransPennine Express (TPE) is advising customers to “only travel if journeys are essential and to seek alternative means of transport if possible.”
Services will be disrupted all week, including on non-strike days. Some stations, including Middlesbrough, Scarborough, and Hull will be completely closed on strike days.
Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales will be impacted by the strikes. The majority of services across the Wales and Borders network will be suspended, except for the Core Valley Lines north of Radyr, which will run with a reduced service.
Although Transport for Wales workers are not on strike, the majority of the rail network is owned by National Rail, which is on strike.
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains will run a very limited service on strike days between 7.30am and 6.30pm. The strikes will also disrupt services on non-strike days.
The train company says: “Our advice to customers is to only travel during this time if your journey is essential and you have no other means of transport available. If you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead.”
When do the strikes end?
The last day of this current action will be on Saturday 25 June. The advice is to expect further disruption on non-strike days as the knock-on effect continues.
On Wednesday will be hampered with only 60 per cent of trains running due to a delay to the start of services as signallers and control room staff are not doing overnight shifts.
