Rail strikes: what’s happening in October and how will train passengers be affected?

National rail strikes in disputes over pay, working conditions and jobs have been taking place since June. Another series will hit millions of passengers in early October.

The date of the biggest strike, Saturday 1 October, is the day before the Conservative Party conference opens in Birmingham and the eve of the London Marathon. The second date, Wednesday 5 October, is the day the Tory conference ends.

A second Saturday strike, on 8 October, is aimed at wrecking the plans of leisure passengers.

But who’s involved and what will the effects be?

Who is striking – and when?

The RMT union has called walk-outs on 1 and 8 October, involving more than 40,000 members working for Network Rail and 14 train operating companies. The union says it will “effectively shut down the railway network”.

The first date, Saturday 1 October, coincides with a strike involving train drivers working for 12 rail firms and belonging to the Aslef union. The stoppages will bring the vast majority of services to a halt.

In addition, Aslef members at 13 train operators will stop work on Wednesday 5 October.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which represents white-collar workers, says members in Network Rail and 11 train operating companies will take “strike action and action short of strike on Saturday 1 October,” with those at some individual firms stopping work on 5, 6 and 8 October.

The unions had planned similar action in mid-September, but postponed the walk-outs after the death of the Queen.

Which train operators will be affected?

The disputes are tangled. But let’s start with the 14 affected by the RMT stoppages on 1 and 8 October.

Six are mainly longer-distance intercity companies, though with plenty of shorter connections (eg Coventry to Birmingham, Derby to Matlock and Durham to Newcastle):

The remaining eight are largely commuter and shorter-distance operators, though they include operators with some longer journeys such as London to Norwich and to Birmingham:

In addition, says the RMT, members working for London Overground and Hull Trains will walk out on 1 October in separate disputes.

The intercity operators affected by the Aslef strike on 1 and 5 October are very similar, though with the…