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Thursday 29 Sep 2022

Severely reduced train service across Wales and the Borders during October rail strikes

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Rail passengers should plan ahead and only travel by train if absolutely necessary on Saturday 1, Wednesday 5 and Saturday 8 October during national strike action.  

With the RMT, ASLEF and TSSA unions all announcing strike action on Saturday 1 October only around 10% of trains will operate in Wales and the Borders, and in some parts of the country services will be completely suspended.  

Train drivers at 14 operators (including Great Western Railway and Avanti West Coast) are also walking out on Wednesday 5 October, meaning disruption for passengers on those routes. 

The RMT has announced further strike action on Saturday 8 October. 

Where trains can run, an extremely limited special timetable will operate between 7:30am and 6:30pm on strike days - with disruption expected on the day after each strike as workers return to duties. 

Transport for Wales (TfW) is not involved in either dispute, but its services will be affected, as it relies on Network Rail staff to run trains on much of the network. 

Saturday 1 October 

Transport for Wales will run an hourly service between Cardiff and Newport. Hourly TfW services will also run on the Core Valley Lines (CVL) - between Cardiff Central and Rhymney, Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil.  

No other rail services will run in Wales and the Borders. 

Wednesday 5 October 

TfW services will be running across Wales and the Borders, however, some trains will be much busier than usual. Passengers are urged to only travel if necessary on these routes: 

• Swansea - Bridgend - Cardiff - Newport 
• Holyhead - Chester - Manchester - Crewe 

• Shrewsbury - Wolverhampton (Birmingham New Street will be closed) 
• Cardiff – Gloucester 

No other rail services will run in Wales and the Borders. 

Saturday 8 October 

A special timetable for 8 October will be published early next week (w/c 3 October).  

Nick Millington, acting route director at Network Rail Wales & Borders said: “I’d like to apologise to passengers, once again, for the limited services we are able to run due to continued strike action.  

“We’ll be running as many services as we safely can for those who absolutely need to travel by train, but my best advice is to plan ahead, only travel if necessary, and make sure you check your last train home.” 

Passengers can get ticket refunds if they are unable to travel on the strike days and can also use their tickets on alternative days. Passengers should check with their train operator for more details and go to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for travel updates. 

Passengers who need to travel on strike days, or who already have a tickets, should check with their train operator before they travel for advice on the flexibility or refunds.   

Full details of train operators affected by strike action can be found at National Rail Enquiries.