Rail workers across the UK are set to stage another three days of strikes, after they rejected what their union has described as a "paltry" new offer from Network Rail. The stoppages - which are planned for July 16, 27 and 20 - will affect North East travellers, although the exact details have not been released yet.
The strikes, which threaten chaos right at the start of the school summer holidays, come after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at train companies and Network Rail rejected an offer of a four per cent pay rise backdated to January, a further two per cent next year, and two per cent extra conditional on achieving 'modernisation milestones' was made. The RMT is seeking an offer or guarantee over job losses from train operating companies.
Last month's three strikes crippled services across the region, and travellers are worried about further rail action, with providers who run services through key regional stations in Durham and Newcastle such as LNER, CrossCountry and Transpennine all potentially participating. The Tyne and Wear Metro Service was also affected by the strikes last month.
The main days of disruption will be Wednesday, July 27 and Saturday, July 30, and although the services affected haven't been announced yet, people who are planning of travelling on these days should keep an eye on the train company's website, where the routes disturbed by the strike action will be announced when they are known.
If your train is cancelled
You have two choices, depending on which operator you were travelling with:
- Use your ticket on another day. If you have a single-use ticket dated for a strike day, you may be able to travel on a different day at no extra cost. You should check with the rail company or the firm you purchased the tickets from.
- Get a full refund. If you can't travel on another day, you are entitled to a full refund from the firm you were due to travel with for any ticket type, including advance tickets.
If you train is delayed:
If you have a single-use ticket of any type, you should be eligible for a partial or full refund if your train is delayed due to the strikes, although the refund you will get depends on the length of the delay. While there are some variations to how it works, it's usually:
- If it's delayed by 30-59 minutes you'll get 50% back
- You'll get 100% back for 60-119 minutes
The exception to this is Northern Rail, which will pay 25% back if you are delayed for 15-29 minutes before the rules above kick in.
If you have a season ticket
Most season ticket holders can also claim for individual delays, but the rules vary and it's also worth checking if you can claim for continual delays.
How do you make a claim?
Claiming is usually straightforward and quick but there are a couple of things to remember:
- The time you arrive at your destination counts when determining how long the delay was, not when the train left. So if your train left 30 minutes late but made up time on the journey and arrived at your destination just 10 minutes late, you would not be able to claim compensation.
- You need to claim from the train company which was running the delayed service, even if you booked via a different site, such as www.trainline.com.
- You need to make your claim within 28 days of the journey date.
To make a claim:
-
Look up the train company running the service and check how much you can get back.
-
Make a note of the delay and the reason for it
-
Fill in the claim form – you can find it online or request one from the station or by phone.
-
Keep hold of your tickets – you'll need to take a photo of them or scan them if applying online or post them to the train company if claiming that way.
Read more:
- LNER warns commuters to only travel when necessary following red weather warning
- Six new railway stations and half-hourly trains: What you need to know about the Northumberland Line
- Road is opening up to allow self-driving cars on UK roads
- The cheapest places to park in Newcastle city centre - and you may be surprised
- Met Office won't rule out another heatwave after July's extreme temperatures drop
