How is each train operator affected by the latest rail strikes?

3 January 2023, 13:24

A sign at Waterloo station during a rail strike
Industrial strike. Picture: PA

Rail strikes are taking place every day between Tuesday and Saturday.

Britain’s railway services are being decimated by strike action this week.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators are striking on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Train drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday.

Here is a breakdown of each operator’s plan for strike days:

– Avanti West Coast

On RMT strike days there is one train per hour in both directions between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston.

A limited service is operating to Glasgow.

Several areas are not being served, such as Blackpool, Edinburgh, North Wales and Shrewsbury.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– c2c

On Tuesday, there is no service between Shoeburyness and Upminster. Services via Rainham and Grays start and terminate at Stanford-le-Hope.

There will be no service to or from Ockendon or Chafford Hundred on Wednesday or Friday.

The operator will not be affected by the Aslef strike.

Timetables for the last day of the RMT strike on Saturday have not been confirmed.

– Caledonian Sleeper

A Caledonian Sleeper train at Edinburgh Waverley
Caledonian Sleeper services will be disrupted (Jane Barlow/PA)

All departures on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday night are cancelled.

Services will be disrupted on Thursday night, with some journeys involving passengers being transferred onto road transport.

Caledonian Sleeper does not run trains on Saturday nights.

– Chiltern Railways

On Tuesday and Wednesday, no trains are running north of Banbury or to/from Oxford station.

There is one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Aylesbury via High Wycombe; Banbury; and Oxford Parkway.

The same frequency is in place between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Amersham.

This will be repeated on Saturday, except there will be up to two trains per hour between London Marylebone and Aylesbury/Aylesbury Vale Parkway.

No trains will run on Thursday or Friday.

– CrossCountry

A very limited service is in place during RMT strike days.

No direct services are running to and from Birmingham New Street and these locations: Bristol Temple Meads, Cambridge, Cardiff, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth and Stansted Airport.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– East Midlands Railway

Just one train per hour is running in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Corby, Nottingham and Sheffield on RMT strike days.

There is the same frequency between Derby and both Matlock and Nottingham; between Sheffield and Nottingham; and between Leicester and Nottingham.

All other routes are closed.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Gatwick Express

Services are suspended on all strike days.

Passengers travelling to or from Gatwick Airport on RMT strike days can use Southern and Thameslink trains.

South Terminal of Gatwick Airport
Services to Gatwick Airport will be hit (PA)

– Grand Central

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, just three trains in each direction are running between London King’s Cross and Northallerton, and two between King’s Cross and Wakefield Kirkgate.

The operator will not be affected by the Aslef strike.

Timetables for the last day of the RMT strike on Saturday have not been confirmed.

– Great Northern

There are very few trains on RMT strike days, with no services east of Ely to King’s Lynn.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Great Western Railway

A Great Western Railway train
Many Great Western Railway trains are cancelled (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Only a very limited service is running on RMT strike days, such as between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff, Oxford and Plymouth.

Services will be reduced even more during Thursday’s Aslef strike.

– Greater Anglia

The company is not running any trains on its regional and branch lines on RMT strike days.

Only a very limited service is operating on some routes to and from London Liverpool Street.

Services will be reduced even more during Thursday’s Aslef strike.

– Heathrow Express

A full service is operating on RMT strike days, but only between 7.30am and 6.17pm.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Hull Trains

Only four trains are running between Doncaster and London King’s Cross on RMT strike days.

The operator will not be affected by the Aslef strike.

– London North Eastern Railway

A limited timetable is in operation on all strike days.

The London King’s Cross-Edinburgh route having just five trains in each direction on Thursday.

– London Northwestern Railway

A limited service is connecting Birmingham New Street with Crewe, London Euston and Wolverhampton on RMT strike days.

Other routes are closed.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

A person walking past empty departures board at Euston station in London
Some operators will be running very limited services (Victoria Jones/PA)

– Lumo

A reduced timetable is in place on all strike days, including just two trains in each direction between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh on Friday.

– Merseyrail

Trains are running every 45 minutes on limited lines during RMT strike days.

No trains are running between Chester and Rock Ferry; Ellesmere Port and Rock Ferry; or Liverpool Central and Hunts Cross.

On Thursday, services will begin at around 7am.

– Northern

Passengers are urged not to travel on RMT strike days as only a small number of routes have trains.

Open routes include Liverpool to Manchester; York to Leeds; and Leeds to Sheffield.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– ScotRail

Trains are only running across the Central Belt, Fife and the Borders during strike days.

– South Western Railway

A “severely limited service” is running on RMT strike days, and only between London Waterloo and Basingstoke, Southampton, Windsor and Woking.

There will be no service on the Island Line on Thursday.

– Southeastern

The vast majority of the network in Kent and East Sussex is closed on RMT strike days.

Trains are running to and from London Bridge and Sevenoaks, Dartford and Orpington, and the high-speed route to London St Pancras.

Southeastern train
The vast majority of the Southeastern network in Kent and East Sussex is closed on RMT strike days (PA)

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Southern

Much of the network is shut down on RMT strike days.

Services running include those on the Brighton Mainline to London Bridge and London Victoria.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Stansted Express

Two trains per hour are running between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport on RMT strike days.

There will be one train per hour on Thursday.

– Thameslink

There are far fewer trains than normal on RMT strike days.

Services are split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Bridge.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– TransPennine Express

A reduced timetable is operating on RMT strike days, and only on these routes: between York and Manchester Piccadilly; between Cleethorpes and Sheffield; and between Preston and Manchester Airport.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

– Transport for Wales

Most lines are closed on RMT strike days.

A limited service is running between Cardiff and Newport, with limited trains elsewhere.

The operator will not be affected by the Aslef strike.

West Midlands Railway

A limited service is operating only between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street on RMT strike days.

No services will operate during the Aslef strike on Thursday.

By Press Association