Only ‘absolutely necessary’ rail travel advised on strike days this week

Monday 15 Aug 2022

Only ‘absolutely necessary’ rail travel advised on strike days this week

Region & Route:: North West & Central

Rail passengers should only travel if ‘absolutely necessary’ on 18 & 20 August
Strike action will see 20% of the usual number of trains running – some routes will have none
Those running will start later from 7:30am and finish earlier by 6.30pm
If you must travel, please check National Rail Enquiries before you set off

Two days of national strike action later this week are expected to cause disruption to rail passengers on the West Coast main line, Chiltern main line, and all routes in the West Midlands, North West and in Cumbria.

Passengers considering using the railway on Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August are being advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.

Repeated coordinated strike action, over pay and modernisation plans*, by the RMT and TSSA unions on Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August will cause severe disruption for passengers with only about a fifth of trains running.

Four of the country’s biggest stations will see services reduced to:

5 departures per hour from London Euston (normally 17 on average)
10 departures per hour from Birmingham New Street (normally 40 on average)
2 departures per hour from Liverpool Lime Street (normally 13 on average)
6 departures per hour from Manchester Piccadilly (normally 30 on average)

People are being warned not to get caught out with trains starting later at 7.30am and finishing much earlier.

Last trains will leave stations between 3pm and 5pm with final arrivals by 6.30pm.

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s North West and Central region managing director, said: “It saddens me that we are again having to ask passengers to stay away from the railway for two days this week due to unnecessary strike action, when we should be helping them enjoy their summers. We have made a good and fair pay offer but, with the exception of our TSSA management grades who accepted the deal, our unions are refusing to put it to a ballot to let our employees have a say, and sadly that means more disruption on the rail network.

“We’ll run as many services as we can this Thursday and Saturday, but it will only be around a fifth of the usual timetable, so please only travel if absolutely necessary and if you must travel, plan ahead and check when your last train will be.”

Disruption is also expected early in the morning after each day of industrial action – Friday 19 August and Sunday 21 August – as striking workers return to duties.

Passengers are encouraged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect.

More information from individual train operators, including on tickets and refunds**, can also be found on:

In London additional disruption is expected on Friday 19 August due to a strike on the London Underground.

Notes to Editors

*Context on Network Rail's position

Network Rail wants to deliver a better, safer and more affordable railway for customers and taxpayers by updating outdated and inflexible working practices, which have seen costs spiral.

The proposed changes will see:

More reliable services on a Sunday - by making Sunday part of the working week for all, rather than a voluntary day paid for in overtime

Increased punctuality - by making staff rostering more flexible so the railway is more resilient, and bringing in new technology for quicker, more efficient and safer railway maintenance

Customer-friendly stations - by bringing stations up to date with the best of modern retailing, with more multiskilled staff on hand to offer help with tickets, journey planning and preventing anti-social behaviour

Network Rail analysis suggests the RMT figure of train operator profits isn’t accurate and is based on projections, rather than reality. The figures published by the Office of Rail and Road tell a different story. Last year, 20 train operators made a total of £75m in profits, with a profit margin of only 0.6%. The franchise model no longer exists, and train operators are paid on a performance related fixed fee basis in the same way as other government suppliers.
Staff costs for train operators went from £3.1bn in 2017-18 to £3.6bn in 2019-20, an increase of 16%. This is partly due to an increase in staff, but also reflects pay increases in that period, despite the RMT claims that staff haven’t had any pay rises.

**Ticket advice

Passengers with advance, off-peak or anytime tickets affected by the strike on 18 and 20 August can use their ticket either on the day before the date on the ticket, or up to and including Tuesday 23 August. Passengers can also change their tickets to travel on an alternate date or get a refund if their train is cancelled or rescheduled. 

Passengers with a season ticket that is monthly or longer or who have an activated days’ worth of travel on a flexi season ticket who choose not to travel on 18 or 20 August, can claim compensation for these days through the delay repay scheme.  If you need to travel on the 18^th or 20^th and already have a ticket, please check with the train company you booked to travel with in advance of your journey for advice on what to do with your ticket.

If your local operator is impacted by industrial action, you should check journey planners on National Rail Enquiries or operator websites to find alternative route options.

Contact information

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

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

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