Over the next six weeks, nine days of national rail strikes are planned, together with an overtime ban over Christmas and the New Year.
The December and January stoppages are planned by the RMT union.
But before that, members of the train drivers’ union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), have walked out at 11 train operators on Saturday 26 November. It is the fifth national strike by drivers in five months
The stoppage has triggered widespread cancellations across Britain. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing train operators says: “Passengers should only travel by train if necessary.”
The problems were exacerbated at London King’s Cross station, terminus for the East Coast main line. A signalling failure was identified at 5am and led to chaos throughout the morning.
Yet many trains are running normally, with stations such as Clapham Junction unaffected by the train drivers’ strike – though others, including London Euston, are closed altogether.
These are the key points for passengers.
Which train operators are affected by the drivers’ strike on Saturday?
Six of them are primarily intercity operators: Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway (GWR), LNER and TransPennine Express.
The remaining five are mainly regional operators: Chiltern, Greater Anglia, Northern, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains.
Will any of them be running trains on Saturday?
Yes, as follows, mainly between 7.30am and 6.30pm unless otherwise stated:
Greater Anglia
“One train per hour on routes between London Liverpool Street and Colchester, Norwich and Southend Victoria and on the Stansted Express service. There will no trains at all on any other routes including the Cambridge to London Liverpool Street main line, or rail replacement buses for them.” The Stansted Express will run from 5am to 11.30pm, and other trains from 8am to 9 or 10pm.
GWR
Hourly service between London Paddington and Bristol. But trains will not call at Bath, the location of a popular Christmas market. Also links from Reading to Basingstoke and Oxford. Last trains may arrive as late as 9.30pm, but check in advance.
LNER
A service every two hours between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, and a single journey each way between London and Leeds. Planned engineering work between Peterborough and Doncaster…
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