January 27th 2024.
Next week, there will be a series of train strikes in Britain that will cause major disruptions and inconvenience for commuters. The strikes, which will take place from January 29 to February 6, are a result of a dispute between the Aslef union and train companies over pay and working conditions for train drivers.
The chaos will be compounded by a nine-day overtime ban, which will further exacerbate the situation. However, there is some good news as a separate five-day strike specifically aimed at LNER between February 5 and 9 has been called off, bringing some relief to affected passengers. A spokesperson for LNER expressed their relief at the news, stating that they hope Aslef will work with them to find a resolution and put an end to this ongoing dispute that is detrimental to the rail industry.
So, what do we know about the upcoming strikes? The strikes will take place on specific dates, with an overtime ban starting on Monday, January 29. Here is a breakdown of which train companies will be impacted on which days:
- Monday, January 29: Overtime ban begins.
- Tuesday, January 30: South Western Railway, Southeastern, and GTR.
- Wednesday, January 31: Northern and TransPennine Express.
- Thursday, February 1: No strike, but overtime ban continues.
- Friday, February 2: Greater Anglia and C2C.
- Saturday, February 3: West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and East Midlands Railway.
- Sunday, February 4: No strike, but overtime ban continues.
- Monday, February 5: Great Western, CrossCountry, and Chiltern.
- Tuesday, February 6: No strike, but overtime ban continues for a final day.
Not all train companies will be impacted by the strikes. Grand Central, Hull Trains, LNER, Lumo, Merseyrail, ScotRail, Transport for London, and Transport for Wales will not be affected. However, for those train companies that are impacted, there will be a reduction in services and some trains may be cancelled.
For affected train companies, here is a breakdown of the services that will be running:
- Avanti West Coast: No trains.
- C2C: No trains.
- Chiltern Railways: No trains.
- CrossCountry: No trains.
- East Midlands Railway: No trains.
- Greater Anglia: Limited service between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Southend Victoria, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport.
- GTR: No trains.
- Great Western Railway: On the strike day, a core service will run between London Paddington, Oxford, Bath, and Bristol, with a link from Bristol to Cardiff. There will also be a limited service on branch lines in Devon and Cornwall. However, the Night Riviera sleeper service from London to Penzance will not be running for a number of nights. The Heathrow Express may also be affected, with a reduced service between 7am and 7pm. Trains on adjacent days may also be impacted.
- Northern: No trains.
- Southeastern: No trains.
- South Western Railway: Up to four stopping trains per hour between London Waterloo and Woking, hourly semi-fast trains between Waterloo and Guildford and Basingstoke, and a shuttle from Basingstoke to Salisbury every 90 minutes. Two trains an hour will run between Waterloo and Feltham via Richmond and Twickenham. There will be no trains on the Isle of Wight.
- Thameslink: Shuttle service calling at St Pancras, Luton Airport Parkway, and Luton only.
- West Midlands Railway: No trains.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan expressed the frustration and desperation of the train drivers, stating that they have been without a pay raise for half a decade and are forced to take action in order to raise awareness of their issues. However, a spokesperson for the Railway Delivery Group urged Aslef's leadership to recognize the financial challenges facing the rail industry and work towards finding a fair resolution that benefits both the employees and the companies. They also highlighted the fact that, currently, taxpayers are contributing an extra £54m a week to keep services running post-Covid.
In conclusion, the train strikes next week will cause a lot of disruption and inconvenience for commuters. However, there will be some relief for passengers as a separate strike aimed at one specific train company has been called off. It is now up to the Aslef union and train companies to work together and find a resolution that is fair and beneficial for all parties involved.
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