Another rail strike will take place this week as more than 40,000 workers at Network Rail and various train operators stage a walk-out over a pay and jobs dispute. Passengers are being warned to expect major disruption to rail services.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and will strike on Wednesday, July 27. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has also announced a strike by its members at Avanti West Coast on the same day.
Network Rail expects around 20 per cent of services to run on the day with some station closures in place. Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday, and will start later than normal on Thursday.
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Passengers are being urged to only travel by train if it is necessary and allow extra time for essential journeys. People should also make sure they know when the last trains will be running due to the shorter operating hours.
Transport for Greater Manchester has said passengers should check the latest advice from train operators before travelling. Any services which do operate on the day will be very busy and could be cancelled at the last minute, it warned.
Here's what you need to know about the upcoming strike.
What date is the strike?
The next rail strike will be on Wednesday, July 27. Although the strike will last just one day, passengers are being warned that services could also be impacted on Tuesday, July 26, and Thursday, July 28.
The walk-out will likely affect passengers travelling for holidays or attending events such as the women’s Euro 2022 semi-final in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham the following day.
Which companies will be affected?
Network Rail expects a “very limited” timetable will be available across the country on the strike day, with around 20 per cent of services running and some parts of the country with no rail services. Trains will start later and services will finish much earlier than usual, with passengers told to expect disruption and only travel if necessary.
The companies affected by the strike are:
- Network Rail
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry Trains
- Greater Anglia
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Great Western Railway
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern
- South Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- West Midlands Trains
- Heathrow Express
- Lumo
- Hull Trains
- Grand Central
- Transport for Wales
- ScotRail
- Merseyrail
- Thameslink
- London Northwestern Railway
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Stansted Express
- GTR (including Gatwick Express)
How will the strikes affect services in Greater Manchester?
Piccadilly Station will close at 7pm on Wednesday and will reopean at 7am on Thursday morning.
Avanti West Coast said they will run a limited service of around a quarter of the normal timetable. There will be just one train per hour in both directions between London Euston and each of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston.
CrossCountry will run a limited service between Birmingham and Edinburgh via Leeds, York and Newcastle; Leicester; Manchester; and Southampton. The operator has cancelled direct services between Birmingham and Bristol, Cardiff, Peterborough, Cambridge or Stansted Airport.
Northern is urging passengers not to travel at all on Wednesday as only a small number of routes will have trains. Routes that will be open include Liverpool to Alderley Edge; York to Leeds; and Darlington to Saltburn.
TransPennine Express will also run a very limited service. The only routes still running will be: Manchester Airport to Preston; Manchester Piccadilly to York; Newcastle to Edinburgh; and Cleethorpes to Sheffield.
Will the Metrolink be affected?
Metrolink services will continue to operate on Wednesday. Additional double services will be put on across the network on in order to create extra capacity, Transport for Greater Manchester said.
Tram services between Altrincham and Timperley will only operate from 7am to 7pm on Wednesday. Between 6am and 7am, and 7pm and midnight, a bus replacement service will be in operation.
There is no ticket acceptance in place on Metrolink services. You will need to purchase a separate Metrolink ticket for your journey.
Which train stations will not be served?
Avanti West Coast trains will not be calling at Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent or Runcorn, so these stations will be closed.
Are there more rail strikes to come?
Further strikes are planned for this month and next. Members of the drivers’ union Aslef at eight train operators across the country will go on strike on Saturday, while two further RMT strikes are set to take place on August 18 and 20 over job security, pay and working conditions.
The TSSA has also served notice for strikes across seven train operating companies on the same days in August, with strike action planned at Avanti West Coast, c2c, East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, LNER, and Southeastern trains. Action short of strikes will be taken at West Midlands Trains, Northern, Greater Anglia, TransPennine Express and Southeastern.
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