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Wednesday 2 Nov 2022

Rail strikes to impact first weekend of Birmingham Christmas markets

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

• Rail passengers are being warned strike action will impact the first weekend of Birmingham's Christmas markets
• West Midlands Trains services will be significantly reduced on Friday 4 November due to action by the TSSA
• An RMT walkout on Saturday 5 November means only nine departures per hour from Birmingham New Street
• On Saturday many routes have no trains at all - those which do run will start later from 7:30am and finish by 6.30pm
• Passengers should only travel if absolutely necessary and regularly check National Rail Enquiries

Rail passengers are being warned to only travel if absolutely necessary this weekend with the first of several upcoming days of industrial action set to significantly impact train services across the West Midlands.

On Friday 4 November members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) at some train operators will take part in industrial action.

On Saturday 5 November members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union including Network Rail and train operator staff will strike.

Industrial action by the RMT union has also been announced for Avanti West Coast train managers on Sunday 6 November.

The walkouts coincide with the start of Birmingham's famous Frankfurt Christmas market and Bonfire Night celebrations.

On Friday 4 November:

• West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway will run a very limited service from 7:30am to 7:30pm between: Birmingham - Crewe - Liverpool (including local journeys between Birmingham - Wolverhampton), Birmingham - Northampton - London Euston, and on the Cross City Line between Lichfield - Birmingham - Redditch/Bromsgrove
• There will be no West Midlands Railway services on any other route, including Birmingham - Shrewsbury and Birmingham – Worcester - Hereford
• No Chiltern Railways services will operate north of Birmingham Moor Street all day
• No CrossCountry services will run on its Cardiff – Birmingham – Nottingham route

On Saturday 5 November:

• All train operators at Birmingham New Street station will be impacted by the strike action
• A special timetable will be in operation with only nine trains per hour leaving the station
• That's compared to an average of 40 departures an hour on a non-strike weekday
• Trains will run from 7am and last trains will leave between 3pm and 5pm with final arrivals by 6.30pm
• Birmingham New Street station will close completely at 7pm on Saturday evening

On Sunday 6 November:

• Avanti West Coast's existing timetable will be reduced significantly and services which do run will be very busy

Passengers planning on travelling into the city on strike days should only do so if absolutely necessary and are being warned not to get caught out with trains finishing much earlier than normal.

Those who still must travel should check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect.

Rail travellers can also find out more from their individual train operators through these links:

• Avanti West Coast’s information page
• West Midlands Railways' information page
• London Northwestern Railway's information page
• CrossCountry’s information page
• Transport for Wales’ information page
• Chiltern Railways' information page

Two days of RMT strike action will also take place next week on Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November.  Those days will see the same level of service as Saturday 5 November.

Timetables for services this Saturday have been published and are live on the National Rail journey planner. Timetables for next Monday and Wednesday will be published tomorrow (Thursday) and Saturday respectively. A map illustrating the disruption is attached. 

Network Rail is trying to give passengers the best service it possibly can but trains will be significantly reduced or not running at all on some routes.

Across the country, thousands of specially-trained and fully qualified back-up staff will again step in during the walkouts to keep vital services running for those who need them.

Steven Ireland, Network Rail’s director of stations for Birmingham New Street, said: “It’s so frustrating that passengers are yet again facing heavy disruption or cancellations to their rail journeys because of unnecessary strike action by unions.

“As we're now gearing up for the festive season it also disrupts passengers who want to make the most of Birmingham's city centre events and the Christmas Markets.  On strike days I'd urge people to know that trains will finish much earlier than normal - even if you can catch a train into the city you won't be able to get a train home. Please don't risk it, check National Rail Enquiries and plan ahead."

Passengers should also expect disruption on the morning after each strike day with a later start to services as employees return to duties.

For specific train operator service information, please visit National Rail or your train operating company.