Media centre

Wednesday 2 Nov 2022

Severely limited trains at London Euston during November strikes

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: West Coast Mainline South

• London Northwestern Railway services will be significantly reduced on Friday 4 November due to a strike by the TSSA
• Passengers should only travel if absolutely necessary during further RMT strike action on 5, 7 and 9 November
• On those days a special timetable will be in place with only four trains per hour leaving London Euston
• Many routes will have no trains at all - those which do run will start later from 7:30am and finish by 6.30pm
• Passengers are reminded to plan ahead using National Rail Enquiries and to expect disruption

Passengers planning on travelling through London Euston station during strike action on Friday 4, Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November are being warned not to get caught out with trains finishing much earlier than normal.

Strike action by members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) means that on Friday 4 November London Northwestern Railway will run a very limited service on its London Euston - Northampton - Birmingham route with services starting from 7:30am and finishing by 7:30pm.

Then RMT strike action involving Network Rail and train operating staff will take place on the 5, 7 and 9 November.

On those days only four trains per hour will depart from the station - that's compared to an average of 17 departures an hour on a non strike day.

Nationally only 20% of trains will be running on around 50% of the railway network.

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. 

On the RMT strike days London Euston's last trains will leave between 3pm and 5pm with final arrivals by 6.30pm.

People are once again being advised to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary because of the continuing staff walkouts by RMT union members.

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

People can also check with their individual train operators through these links:

• Avanti West Coast’s information page
• London Northwestern Railway's information page
• Caledonian Sleeper's information page
• Transport for London's information page

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 walkout to keep vital services running for those who need them.

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

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “It's hugely frustrating that once again rail passengers using the West Coast main line will be disrupted due to unnecessary strike action despite our best efforts to reach a compromise with the RMT union. With a fraction of the usual workforce available, including signallers who safely move trains around the network, there will be a severely limited service during RMT strike action on the 5, 7 and 9 November.

“I can only apologise for the impact another RMT strike will have on people’s lives. It is frustrating to yet again ask our passengers to change their plans and only make absolutely necessary journeys. I'd also please ask anyone who does try to travel to be kind to our staff who are working - all of them will be trying to provide the best advice they can for people while a very limited train service is running.”

Alongside the national RMT strikes, additional industrial action includes:

• Sunday 6 November: RMT industrial action by Avanti West Coast train managers will see its timetable reduced significantly and services which do run will be very busy

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