Rail strikes will cripple the country AGAIN on the last weekend of the …

Rail strikes will cripple the country AGAIN on the last weekend of the summer holidays – with some parts of the network left with no service at all

Rail strikes will be held by Aslef on Friday followed by RMT on Saturday
Aslef overtime ban on Saturday will also impact services across Britain

Updated: 16:38, 30 August 2023

Britain’s rail passengers face further chaos yet again over the coming days as two unions hold more strikes that will leave parts of the country with no service at all.

Members of the Aslef train drivers’ union will walk out this Friday – before the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) then holds a strike on Saturday.

Some 20,000 RMT members from 14 train companies are set to walk out on Saturday when, compounding the misery, Aslef will also impose an overtime ban.

The industrial action over the long-running pay dispute will see some providers cancel all trains on Friday, while others will be running severely limited services.

There will be no service at all on Friday on these 14 operators: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Island Line, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Thameslink, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Railway.

Here, MailOnline looks at what the strikes across England – which take place on the final weekend before most school holidays end – mean for your local rail operator:

AVANTI WEST COAST

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Four trains per hour to and from London Euston: one to each of Manchester (via Crewe and Stockport), Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston (with a limited service extending to Carlisle). These trains will operate during limited hours, with the first departing Euston around 8am and the last from Euston at around 5pm. North Wales, Shrewsbury, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Glasgow and Edinburgh will have no Avanti West Coast services. Macclesfield and Runcorn stations will be shut.

Avanti West Coast has no trains running on Friday and a heavily reduced service on Saturday operating between 7am and 7pm only

C2C

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Two trains per hour from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Laindon calling at all stations. Two trains per hour Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Ockendon. One train per hour from Fenchurch Street to Grays via Rainham.

C2C - Friday will see its usual timetable. There will be no major impact on Saturday but all services will run to/from London Fenchurch Street and will not call at London Liverpool Street or Stratford

CALEDONIAN SLEEPER (not on strike)

Friday: Glasgow and Edinburgh trains to London Euston will not call at Watford Junction.

Saturday: Normal service.

CHILTERN RAILWAYS

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service between 8am and 10pm. One train per hour between Marylebone and Banbury. One train per hour between Marylebone and Oxford. One train per hour between Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham. Trains will not call at Harrow-on-the-Hill, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood or Chalfont & Latimer. No Chiltern services operating north of Banbury. No trains all day at Wembley Stadium, Northolt Park, South Ruislip, Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Hatton or Lapworth all day.

Chiltern Railways will have no trains on Friday. On Saturday, no trains will run north of Banbury. Services that do run will be limited to one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Banbury, Oxford and Aylesbury via Amersham, and only between around 9am and 9pm

CROSSCOUNTRY

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Reduced service on most routes. No service between Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central or Birmingham New Street and Nottingham. Trains from Birmingham New Street to Bristol, Southampton, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Peterborough and Manchester will all be running a reduced service.

CrossCountry will also be affected by industrial action on Saturday, September 9.

Cross Country will have no trains on Friday. On Saturday, no direct services will run to or from Birmingham New Street and locations such as Aberdeen, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham and Stansted Airport. Services that do run will only operate between 7am and 7pm.

DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Buses replace trains between Prince Regent and Beckton.

EAST MIDLANDS RAILWAY

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service between 6.30am and 6.30pm only. Engineering work is also taking place at Newark Castle, closing various lines. Services on the Leicester-Lincoln-Grimsby route will operate between Nottingham and Leicester only. EMR Intercity: 1tph between Nottingham and St Pancras; 1tph between Sheffield and St Pancras. EMR Connect: 1tph between Corby and St Pancras. EMR Regional: 1tph between Derby and Nottingham; Derby and Matlock; Sheffield and Nottingham; and Leicester and Nottingham (stopping service). Two-hourly service between Nottingham and Skegness, only calling at Grantham, Sleaford and Boston.

East Midlands Railway has no trains running on Friday. On Saturday, services will run between 7am and 7pm. They will be limited to just one train per hour in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Nottingham, Sheffield and Corby, as well as a handful of regional routes such as between Derby and Matlock. East Midlands Railway has no trains running on Friday. On Saturday, services will run between 7am and 7pm. They will be limited to just one train per hour in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Nottingham, Sheffield and Corby, as well as a handful of regional routes such as between Derby and Matlock.

ELIZABETH LINE (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: No service between Maidenhead and Reading before 7am and after 7pm. After 11.30pm, no service between Brentwood and Shenfield. Also, before 7am and after 7pm, all Elizabeth line trains will serve the Elizabeth line platforms. Trains which usually start and terminate on the National Rail platforms will not operate between Paddington and Ealing Broadway.

The Elizabeth Line will have its usual timetable on Friday. On Saturday, the Elizabeth line is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be some alterations to its services. These include no trains between Maidenhead and Reading before 7am or after 7pm

EUROSTAR (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Normal service.

GATWICK EXPRESS

Friday: No service. A very limited Southern shuttle service will run, calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only. A queuing system will be in place at stations.

Saturday: Limited service. Usual non-stop Gatwick Express service between Victoria, Gatwick and Brighton will not run. There will instead be extra stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon, and these trains will be operating as Southern services.

GRAND CENTRAL (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Minor alterations to normal service. The 6.44am Sunderland to London King’s Cross service will instead depart at 7.09am. Late services from London King’s Cross to Sunderland will terminate at St Peters Metro station.

Grand Central will have its usual timetable on Friday. On Saturday, Grand Central is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be minor alterations to its services

GREAT NORTHERN

Friday: No service.

Saturday: One train per hour between Cambridge and Ely, and Cambridge and King’s Lynn. Two trains per hour between London King’s Cross and Cambridge, with different stopping patterns for each. Two trains per hour between London King’s Cross and Peterborough; London King’s Cross and Welwyn Garden City; and London King’s Cross and Stevenage.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

Friday: Very limited service between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads; Paddington and Oxford; Reading and Basingstoke; Reading and Redhill (AM/PM peak only); Reading and Newbury (AM/PM peak only); Westbury and Swindon (AM/PM peak only); Cardiff and Bristol Temple Meads; Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple; Exeter St Davids and Exmouth; Plymouth and Gunnislake; and Penzance and St Ives.

Saturday: Very limited service between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads, Oxford, Cardiff via Bristol Parkway, Plymouth (calling Pewsey, Westbury and Castle Cary), Newbury and Reading/Didcot Parkway. Trains will also run on the Greenford branch; Slough to Windsor; Maidenhead to Bourne End; Twyford to Henley-on-Thames; Reading to Basingstoke; Didcot to Oxford/Banbury; Newbury to Bedwyn; Reading to Redhill; Cardiff Central to Westbury; and Bristol to Plymouth.

Great Western Railway will see a limited service on Friday and Saturday between 7.30am and 6.30pm only

GREATER ANGLIA

Friday: Limited service between Norwich and London, Colchester and London, Southend Victoria and London and Stansted Airport and London. Other routes will have no services.

Saturday: Service only operate between 7am and 11pm. No services for Bishop’s Stortford to Stratford; Colchester to Walton-on-the-Naze via Colchester Town; Hertford East to London Liverpool Street; Ipswich to Felixstowe; Manningtree to Harwich Town; Marks Tey to Sudbury; and Meridian Water to Stratford. Due to engineering works, buses will replace trains between Norwich and Ipswich, and Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds.

Great Anglia will see a reduced service on Friday that will run only between London Liverpool Street and each of Cambridge, Norwich, Southend and Stansted Airport. On Saturday, trains will run between 7am and 11pm. Some routes will have a reduced frequency, but most will have a normal or near normal service. Great Anglia will see a reduced service on Friday that will run only between London Liverpool Street and each of Cambridge, Norwich, Southend and Stansted Airport. On Saturday, trains will run between 7am and 11pm. Some routes will have a reduced frequency, but most will have a normal or near normal service.

HEATHROW EXPRESS

Friday: Reduced service. First train departs London Paddington at 7.25am, then every one hour until the last train at 6.25pm. First train departs Heathrow Terminal 5 at 7.57am, then every one hour until the last train at 6.57pm. First train departs Heathrow Central at 8.02am, then every one hour until the last train at 7.02pm.

Saturday: Normal service but with early finish. Last Train departs London Paddington at 8.40pm, Heathrow Terminal 5 at 8.42pm and Heathrow Central at 8.47pm.

HULL TRAINS

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Normal service.

ISLAND LINE

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Normal service.

LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY (LNER)

Friday: Extremely limited service of one train every two hours between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh.

Saturday: Reduced service between London King’s Cross and Leeds, and London King’s Cross and Edinburgh.

LONDON NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service between 7am and 7pm. Three trains per hour between Milton Keynes and London Euston; one train per hour between Birmingham New Street and Northampton; and six buses per hour between Milton Keynes and Northampton due to engineering works. One train per hour from Birmingham New Street to Birmingham International via local stations; One train per hour from Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street; and one train per hour from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton via local stations.

London Northwestern Railway will have no trains running Friday. On Saturday, a limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm. The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of London Euston, Birmingham International and Liverpool Lime Street.

LONDON OVERGROUND (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Normal service, apart from buses replacing trains between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction.

LONDON UNDERGROUND (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: No Circle line between Hammersmith / High Street Kensington and Tower Hill (via Kings Cross St Pancras); no District line between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road, and none between Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon until 7am; no Hammersmith & City line between Hammersmith and Barking; no Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Aldgate; no Waterloo & City line (as normal at weekends).

LUMO (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Normal service.

MERSEYRAIL (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Normal service.

NORTHERN

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service between 8am and 5pm for Liverpool to Manchester Airport; Leeds to York via Micklefield; Leeds to Ilkley; Leeds to Skipton; Leeds to Bradford Forster Square; Leeds to Moorthorpe and Sheffield; Leeds to Hebden Bridge via Bradford; and Darlington to Saltburn.

Norther Rail will have no trains running on Friday and a reduced service on Saturday and only between 8am and 5pm

SCOTRAIL (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service.

Saturday: Most services unaffected by strike. Only a small number of trains between Glasgow Central and Carlisle, and between Dumfries and Carlisle will be impacted due to train dispatching being carried out by other rail operators at Carlisle station.

SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY

Friday: Extremely limited service on a small number of lines. Majority of the network closed. Trains only run between 7am and 7pm for Waterloo to Woking; Waterloo to Basingstoke; Guildford to Woking; and Waterloo to Twickenham.

Saturday: Significantly reduced service on a limited number of lines. Large parts of the network closed. Trains only run between 7am and 7pm for Waterloo to Southampton; Waterloo to Woking; Waterloo to Basingstoke; Guildford to Woking; and Salisbury to Basingstoke. There will also be two trains per hour on the Windsor Line from Ascot to Waterloo (via Hounslow); Windsor to Waterloo (via Twickenham); Waterloo to Ascot (via Twickenham); and Waterloo to Windsor (via Hounslow).

SOUTHEASTERN

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Only 57 out of its 180 stations will open. A limited service will run on the Dartford line, Sevenoaks line, Bromley South line and High Speed line via Ashford.

SOUTHERN

Friday: Very limited Southern shuttle service will run, calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only.

Saturday: Two trains per hour between London Victoria and Brighton; London Victoria and Gatwick Airport; London Bridge and Brighton; London Bridge and Gatwick Airport; London Bridge and Three Bridges; Brighton and Hove; Brighton and Barnham; Barnham and Three Bridges via Horsham; Brighton and Seaford; and Brighton and Eastbourne. Two trains per hour between London Victoria and Sutton; London Victoria and Epsom Downs; London Victoria and West Croydon; London Bridge and Tattenham Corner; Caterham and Purley; London Victoria and East Grinstead; and Redhill and Reigate. One train per hour between Oxted and Uckfield; London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks; and Plumstead and Rainham.

STANSTED EXPRESS

Friday: Reduced service of one train per hour between Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport.

Saturday: Reduced service of two trains per hour in both directions.

STANSTED EXPRESS - Friday: Frequencies will be halved to one train per hour in each direction. Saturday: Frequencies will be halved to one per hour in each direction, and trains will start later and finish earlier than normal.

THAMESLINK

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service. Two trains per hour between St Pancras International and Bedford; and between St Pancras International and Luton.

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service. Between Manchester Piccadilly and York, six local services, three semi-fast services (towards Manchester Piccadilly) and four semi-fast services (towards York). Six services between York and Scarborough. Five services in both directions between Preston and Manchester Airport. Five services in both directions between Sheffield to Cleethorpes.

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS - Friday : No trains. Saturday : A reduced timetable will operate and only between Liverpool Lime Street and each of Huddersfield, Preston and Sheffield, and between Sheffield and Cleethorpes.

TRANSPORT FOR WALES (not on strike)

Friday: Normal service but warning over trains being ‘extremely busy’.

Saturday: Some services in the early morning before 7am and evening after 7pm will be amended. All day, South Wales to Manchester Piccadilly trains in both directions will set down only at Stockport due to overcrowding concerns and will not stop at Wilmslow.

TRANSPORT FOR WALES: Almost the entire Transport for Wales network (shown above) will be closed during the strike day

WEST MIDLANDS RAILWAY

Friday: No service.

Saturday: Limited service between 7am and 7pm. London Euston – Northampton – Birmingham New Street: 3 trains per hour between Milton Keynes – London Euston, 1 train per hour Birmingham New Street – Northampton and 6 buses per hour Milton Keynes – Northampton due to engineering works. Birmingham New Street – Birmingham International via local stations: 1 train per hour. Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street: 1 train per hour. Birmingham New Street – Wolverhampton via local stations: 1 train per hour. Birmingham New Street – Lichfield City / Redditch / Bromsgrove: 2 trains per hour between Lichfield City – Birmingham New Street (buses will run between Birmingham New Street – Redditch / Bromsgrove and Lichfield City – Lichfield Trent Valley due to engineering works). Kidderminster – Whitlocks End / Dorridge via Birmingham Snow Hill: 1 train per hour between Kidderminster – Whitlocks End and 1 train per hour between Kidderminster – Dorridge. Stourbridge Town – Stourbridge Junction: up to 6 trains per hour. Birmingham New Street – Rugeley Trent Valley: 1 train per hour.

WEST MIDLANDS RAILWAY - Friday : No trains. Saturday : A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm. The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of Wolverhampton, Rugeley Trent Valley and Lichfield Trent Valley; between Kidderminster and Whitlocks End/Dorridge; and between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town. WEST MIDLANDS RAILWAY - Friday : No trains. Saturday : A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm. The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of Wolverhampton, Rugeley Trent Valley and Lichfield Trent Valley; between Kidderminster and Whitlocks End/Dorridge; and between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town.

References

^{^} Mark Duell (www.dailymail.co.uk)