December is strewn with strikes by transport workers across Europe, with walk-outs in France and Italy preceding the stoppages by Avanti West Coast train managers in the UK before and after Christmas. Most of these are on the railways, but aviation and local public transport will also be affected.
The strikes will wreck the travel plans for millions of passengers and put extra pressure on the transport system on some of the busiest days of the winter.
In addition, travellers can expect disruption-as-usual – such as the cancellation of a Eurostar train from Brussels to London on 11 December because of technical problems, and the plethora of Network Rail engineering projects starting later this month.
These are the key problems travellers face in December:
France
A national rail strike beginning at 7pm on Wednesday 11 February is likely to affect mainly trains in the Ile-de-France – Paris and the region around it.
The walk-out by the biggest rail union, the CGT, and the Sud-Rail union is indefinite.
Staff are stopping work in protest against proposed reforms of the SNCF (French Railways) freight division. But the impact on passenger traffic will be significant, particularly on the RER suburban express network in and around Paris, and on commuter lines. Trains that do run are likely to be very crowded.
Eurostar says: “A couple of French rail unions are calling for an unlimited strike from Wednesday 11 December 2024. We’re currently assessing how our timetable will be impacted if the strike goes ahead.”
Italy
Staff working for Trenitalia, the national rail enterprise, are expected to strike from 9pm on Thursday 12 December for 24 hours. The impact is uncertain.
City transport will also be affected, with Rome’s and Milan’s buses and metro likely to be severely disrupted for most of the day – though not during the late afternoon.
More strikes are set for Sunday 15 December, this time mainly targeting aviation. As with previous strikes, there is a mix of full-day and four-hour walk-outs. The stoppages that will have the maximum impact, in terms of passenger numbers, are of ground handlers and/or air-traffic controllers on Sunday afternoon at key airports including all three Milan hubs: Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo. Catania airport in Sicily may also be affected.
Airlines will try to work around the…
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