East Coast Main Line passengers urged to plan ahead and only travel by train if necessary on Wednesday

Monday 25 Jul 2022

East Coast Main Line passengers urged to plan ahead and only travel by train if necessary on Wednesday

Region & Route:: Eastern; | Eastern: East Coast

Rail passengers travelling on the East Coast Main Line are urged to plan ahead this Wednesday (27 July) as a limited timetable will be available
Amid national industrial action, less than half of usual services will run between London and Edinburgh from 7.30am until 6.30pm
Passengers should check before they travel, expect disruption and only travel if necessary

Rail passengers travelling on the East Coast Main Line should plan ahead and only travel by train if it’s necessary this Wednesday (27 July). Train services will be limited and only run between 7.30am and 6.30pm amid national industrial action.

Thousands of specially-trained and fully qualified back-up staff will step in during the walkout - which has been called by the RMT union - to keep vital services running for those who need them. But with less than half of usual services planned to run between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, York and Newcastle, passengers are asked to only travel by train if they must.

Trains are set to start later and finish much earlier than usual, between 7.30am and 6.30pm, with the last services leaving in the early afternoon. Those who really need to travel should allow extra time and check their last train times.

Simon Pumphrey, East Coast Infrastructure Director for Network Rail said: “This Wednesday, passengers travelling on the East Coast Main Line will face a limited train service due to the ongoing industrial action.

“I’d urge those who absolutely need to travel by train to plan ahead, check their journey and expect significant disruption. I can only apologise for the impact that this will have on people’s plans.”

Passengers should also expect disruption on the morning of Thursday 28 July with a later start to services as railway workers return to their duties.

Separately, ASLEF has called strike action across seven train operators on Saturday 30 July that will significantly disrupt some routes, so passengers are asked to check their journeys before travelling over the weekend as well.

Further information for passengers is available on the National Rail website.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

All train operators are affected by the 27 July strike (whether they have an individual dispute with the RMT or not) as Network Rail’s signallers control train movements across the entire country.
Although the network will only be open from 7.30am to 6.30pm on 27 July, electricity to tracks and overhead lines will stay on throughout, as will patrolling by security staff, police and from the air.
Regarding the ASLEF strike on 30 July, the seven operators affected are Arriva Rail London, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains.
Further RMT strikes are also planned for 18 and 20 August.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Louise Leighton
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
07858 375508
louise.leighton2@networkrail.co.uk

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