Another week of UK Rail Strikes - Economy Class & Beyond

Well, whilst the United Kingdom attempts to go back to work today after the extended Christmas and New Year break, the RMT and ASLEF Unions are not going to make it easy, with strikes across the UK Rail Network.

This is resulting in mass cancellations, as well as service black-out days.

There are not going to be that many trains over the next few days…

This week is going to be full of disruption, with the following striking the following days :

Tuesday 3rd – RMT Strike
Wednesday 4th – RMT Strike
Thursday 5th – ASLEF Strike
Friday 6th – RMT Strike
Saturday 7th – RMT Strike

Typically, the RMT strikes have allowed limited services to operate between 07:30 and 18:30. The ASLEF strike is a different beast, encompassing 15 operators, with their sub-brands impacted, resulting in no services operating.

Expect services to start late on the 5th and 8th of January, with trains and people being out of position.

Which train companies are impacted by the strikes?

For completeness, here are the confirmed plans of each train operating company:

Some trains will operate reduced timetables, whilst some routes will suffer complete shutdowns. You are strongly advised to check before you travel.

For the ASLEF Strike, the following companies are affected:

What times will trains operate? (If they are)

Limited operations on these days will be from 07:30 to 18:30 during strike days. Expect the barest of bare-bones services, with capacity, with hourly or half-hourly services running.

Services will be heavily curtailed, with some routes only operating partial services.

Even during those operational hours, expect the services to start very late and finish early so journeys can be completed by 18:30.

Are services to airports impacted?

Yes. If you arrive outside the designated service hours, you will need to find an alternative way from your airport to your final destination. The reverse applies if travelling to the airport.

Connecting London Heathrow:

Heathrow Express is running services but is impacted by a late start/early finish. On the ASLEF strike day, there will be no services
Elizabeth Line is expected to be heavily impacted during the RMT Strike days
The Piccadilly Line is operating normally

Connecting other airports near London

Gatwick Express will not operate services. Use Southern or Thameslink services to reach Gatwick (Expect on ASLEF strike day).
Stansted Express will operate two trains an hour between London Liverpool Street and Stansted, down to one per hour on the ASLEF strike day.
Luton Airport will be served by Thameslink and EMR with a limited service, with limitations on the ASLEF Strike day.

Where can I get further information?

National Rail Enquiries should be your first port of call. They have dedicated pages at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/industrialaction.aspx and https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/311341.aspx.

Also, you can check with the individual train operators listed above.

Suffice to say, with an estimated 20% of services planned to operate over this week, it is going be to a tough time if you are relying on travelling by rail to get from A to B.

If you can avoid travelling by train, it might not be the worst idea in the world. If you have to, expect trains to be busy and check where they operate.

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Which train companies are impacted by the strikes?

What times will trains operate? (If they are)

Are services to airports impacted?

Where can I get further information?

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