London Northwestern and West Midlands rail strikes to disrupt services
Rail passengers face significant cancellations and reduced timetables as union members walk out over a rest-day working dispute. Check service updates.
Thousands of rail passengers are being urged to check before they travel this week as strike action is set to cause disruption across parts of the UK rail network. Services operated by London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Trains (WMT) are expected to face cancellations, delays, and reduced services after staff unions were unable to reach an agreement with the Department for Transport on an improved rest-day working arrangement.
The TSSA said roster clerks will walk out from 12.01am on Thursday until 12.01am on Friday, while duty train crew managers and control staff will take industrial action between 12pm on Friday and 12pm on Saturday. As a result, London Northwestern Railway will operate a significantly reduced timetable on Friday and Saturday.
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Service Suspensions and Reductions
No London Northwestern Railway services will operate on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley or on the Stafford to Crewe route via Stoke-on-Trent on Friday and Saturday.
Birmingham to Liverpool, London Euston to Crewe, Birmingham to London Euston via Northampton, Milton Keynes to London Euston and Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey will each run just one train per hour throughout Friday and Saturday.
Services will also finish much earlier than usual on Friday. No trains will run past 7pm, with final departures significantly earlier . The final London Euston to Crewe service, for example, will depart at 3.46pm, while the last London Euston to Birmingham New Street train leaves at 4.26pm. The final London Euston to Milton Keynes Central service is scheduled to depart at 5.09pm. On Saturday, trains will not begin running until around 7am, meaning early morning services will not operate.
There will be no service on Friday and Saturday on all WMR routes via Birmingham Snow Hill, the Camp Hill Line, Nuneaton to Leamington Spa, Birmingham New Street to Hereford, and Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury.
Passengers have also been warned that some Sunday morning services could be affected, as strike action may leave trains and crews out of position for the start of the day.
Stance of the Union and Rail Operators
TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “These strikes will go ahead as planned because our members have not been given parity with those in other unions – a perfectly reasonable demand.
“As things stand, we face an intolerable situation. Our reps at West Midlands Trains have consulted the membership, and they remain determined to proceed with their legitimate action.
London Northwestern Railway’s customer experience director, Jonny Wiseman, said: “We are disappointed TSSA has called further unnecessary strike action which is set to cause significant disruption for our customers. We are working hard to reach a resolution to this dispute and urge TSSA to continue talks.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause our customers and we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact as much as possible. If the strike action does go ahead we will be running a significantly reduced timetable on both dates.”
Passenger Advice
Passengers are advised to continue checking journey planners before travelling, as timetables are still being updated and services may change. LNR and WMT have offered customers a full refund for cancelled rail services, or tickets can be used on Thursday Juy 9 or Sunday July 12.
