Train cancellations are beginning today ahead of the biggest rail strike shutdown for 40 years.
Members of the RMT union, the train drivers’ union, Aslef, and the white-collar TSSA are walking out in a range of disputes over pay, jobs and working conditions.
RMT staff employed by Network Rail and 14 train operators are stopping work, as are train drivers at a dozen rail firms.
Even at the train operators which are not directly involved in the action, including Transport for Wales and ScotRail, the absence of 5,000 Network Rail signallers means at least half of the rail system will be out of action.
Only one train in nine is expected to run on Saturday 1 October, with further cancellations on Friday 30 September and Sunday 2 October.
Grand Central, which connects north-east England and Yorkshire with London, told passengers: “Due to strike action taking place tomorrow, this evening’s 5.30pm Sunderland-London King’s Cross service will not run.”
Many stations will close completely, including London Euston – hub for the West Coast main line to the West Midlands, northwest England and southern Scotland.
On lines that are running, such as London Paddington to Bath and Bristol and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted airport, trains are reduced to one an hour.
Other routes with limited trains will run from the capital to Gatwick airport; Southampton via Basingstoke; Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham via Leicester; Leeds and York; Ely and Cambridge; and Chelmsford and Southend in Essex.
Cardiff is connected with the Valleys and Newport. In Merseyside, some lines in the Liverpool area are running.
Unlike previous national strikes, trains will run on some disconnected stretches of lines, such as Preston to Edinburgh as well as Colchester and Ipswich to Norwich.
In Scotland, trains will run between Glasgow and Edinburgh and on local services from both stations.
The Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators, said: “Only around 11 per cent of services will operate, and there will be no trains at all across significant parts of the country.
“Unlike previous strike days, this Saturday there will be no trains between London and a number of other major UK cities – including Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle and Norwich.
“Trains that do run will start later and finish much earlier than usual, so passengers are asked to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary.
“Those who must travel should expect disruption, plan ahead and check when their last train will depart.”
Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “Despite our best efforts to compromise and find a breakthrough in talks, rail unions remain intent on continuing and coordinating their strike action.
“This serves only to ensure our staff forgo even more of their pay unnecessarily, as well as causing even more disruption for our passengers and further damaging the railway’s recovery from the pandemic.”
The general secretary of the RMT union, Mick Lynch, told Good Morning Britain that he had been in talks with Network Rail and will be meeting train operators today. But he said there had been no new offers.
“They’re locked into a policy set by the Department for Transport [DfT] and the Treasury, and we know there are problems in the government at the moment.
“There seems an inability from the people in charge of this country to set an agenda that will allow resolution to these disputes to develop.”
Network Rail says it has offered a two-year, 8 per cent pay rise with no compulsory redundancies and including other benefits.
Mr Lynch said a meeting of shop stewards had rejected the deal “out of hand”.
“Working class inflation is probably 15 to 16 per cent at the moment,” he said. “It’s completely inadequate.”
Mr Lynch described one train operator, Avanti West Coast, as “completely incompetent” and said they were “presided over by a bunch of people who are also incompetent”.
“The railway is at the point of failure at the moment. We need a new deal for the passengers and the public.”
There will be further disruption right through to 10 October, with train drivers belonging to Aslef and working for 13 train operators striking on Wednesday 5 October and the RMT walking out again on Saturday 8 October.
More immediately, rail travellers in Scotland have been warned: “Due to adverse weather conditions we have various blanket emergency speed restrictions implemented across our network today and early tomorrow.”
