Everything you need to know about the train strikes this month and next (2023)

Family travel during term time at most schools in England will be affected by the upcoming series of national rail strikes.

The two main railway unions announced strikes during the break, which runs from May 27 to June 4.

On Wednesday, May 31 and Saturday, June 3, Aslef train drivers will stop working for several operators, including all key long-distance and suburban companies.

RMT declared a strikeby members working for 14 railway carriers on Friday, June 2.

The schedule means that services may be interrupted from the afternoon of Tuesday, May 30 until the morning of Sunday, June 4.

The drivers' strike on June 3 coincides with the so-calledFA Cup Finalbetween Manchester United and Manchester City to be held at Wembley in north-west London.

Normally, tens of thousands of fans would travel by train to the game. This will also affect racers traveling to the Epsom Derby.

Since June 2022, nationwide rail strikes in a tangle of disputes over wages, job security and work organization have caused problems for tens of millions of train passengers. Stops were called frequently, causing massive disruption and making it difficult to plan trips in advance.

Main Railway AssociationRMT, has been on strike for 24 days in the current wave of strikes, with Aslef stopping work eight times before.

Here are the key questions and answers.

Who is on strike and when?

Aslef has instructed all its train drivers, who work for 16 train operators, to go on strike on Wednesday 31 May and Saturday 3 June.

Rail companies are companies contracted by the Department for Transport. These include the main intercity operators:

The vast majority of London commuting operators will also be affected:

This applies to operators focusing on the Midlands and Northern England:

On Thursday, June 1, the ban on "non-contractual overtime" will also apply.

The RMT union called on its members to go on strike on Friday, June 2. The same train operators will take part, with the addition of c2c, which runs from the City of London to South Essex.

What will be the effect?

In many previous RMT strikes, signal staff working for Network Rail have walked out, shutting down at least half of the rail system. Now they have settled in, so the network infrastructure should be open normally.

Despite this, thousands of trains will be canceled every day of the strike, ruining the travel plans of millions of passengers.

The impact of driver strikes and RMT will be different.

During previous train drivers' strikes, some operators, such as Avanti West Coast and Southeastern, canceled all trains.

Others ran basic services on major routes. For example, at GWR, travelers can expect basic services from London Paddington to and from Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central.

The RMT strike is expected to have little impact. GWR will likely have extended hours including to and from Exeter and Plymouth.

Avanti West Coast will offer basic services, with one train every hour from Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow to London Euston.

LNER is likely to aim to run up to 40 per cent of normal services on the East Coast Main Line, focusing on the London King's Cross-York-Newcastle-Edinburgh backbone.

On all strike days, the vast majority of services in Scotland and Wales will operate as normal as ScotRail and Transport for Wales are not involved in disputes with Aslef and RMT.

On routes shared with English operators such as Aberdeen-Dundee-Edinburgh and Swansea-Cardiff-Newport, some trains may be busier than usual.

Passengers can also expect normal service at:

The driver overtime ban could hit long distance train operators such as Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express particularly hard.

In addition, some evening services before strikes and early morning after strikes will be cancelled.

Will this affect Eurostar?

No, but connections to and from the rail operator's main hub at London St Pancras International will be difficult as union members who work for the three national rail operators (East Midlands Railway, Southeastern and Thameslink) serving the station will retire.

Why is Aslef undertaking a protest action?

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: "We don't want to go on strike. We don't want to inconvenience passengers, we have family and friends who also use rail and we believe in investing in rail for the future of this country.

“But the blame for this action falls, honestly and fairly, on the employers who forced their tenacity on us.

"The proposal of just 4 percent was clearly not going to be accepted as inflation is still above 10 percent and our members at these companies have not had a raise in four years."

Whelan said the companies involved were "failing passengers and taxpayers" and that "proposals to modernize Britain's railways and help them operate more efficiently" had been rejected.

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: "This is disappointing news for our customers and staff, further strikes are completely unnecessary and will only add to the pressure on an industry already facing an acute financial crisis.

“The senseless pursuit of both the Eurovision final and the FA Cup final is disappointing to all who plan to attend.

“After weeks of negotiations with Aslef management, we made a revised and fair offer that included an 8% salary increase for two years. This would introduce overdue, common-sense improvements that already exist on parts of the network, making more trains run on time for passengers. Unfortunately, it was rejected."

Why is RMT attracting attention?

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the train operators, has made wage proposals which RMT says it cannot accept.

Union Secretary General Mick Lynch said: "Once again, the government is not allowing Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer which we may consider.

“That is why we must continue our industrial campaign to win the negotiated deal on jobs, wages and conditions.

“Ministers cannot simply wish this dispute to go away. They underestimate the strength of our members' feelings, who have just given us a new six-month mandate to strike, continue to support the campaign and action, and are determined to keep pushing until we get an acceptable solution.

"The government must now unblock the RDGs and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum by our members."

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: "In recent discussions with RMT, we continued to support the industry-level Fair Dispute Resolution proposal, agreed step by step with their negotiating team, which would have resolved this dispute and given us a lower wage. . employees increase by 13 percent.

“By calling for more strikes, the RMT leadership has decided to prolong this dispute without giving its members a chance to reflect on their own offer.

“Instead, they will face an even greater loss of payments due to the protest action, customers will experience further disruption and the industry will continue to suffer massive damage at a time when rail is taking more than its fair share of taxpayers. the trains run. post-Covid.

"We remain open and willing to engage in national level talks so that we can ensure pay increases for our people and the long-term future of an industry that is vital to the UK economy."

What does the government say?

Ministers will sign a final deal, most of which will be paid for by taxpayers.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said ahead of the latest strike: "Passengers have been forced to endure the RMT strike for almost a year, but RMT management intends to continue to force its members to lose even more wages.

"This is despite a better and final offer, similar to the pay deal recently voted for by your Network Rail members."

Can strikes be called off?

Such is the antipathy between the parties that it seems unlikely.

I have a ticket booked for one of the strike days. What can I do?

Passengers with Advance, Anytime or Off-Peak tickets can request a free ticket refund if the train for which the ticket was booked is canceled, delayed or rescheduled.

Train operators are likely to offer flexibility to travel on various strike-free days.

Pass holders who are not traveling can claim strike date compensation under the Delay Repay scheme.

What are the alternatives?

As always, the long-distance coach operators (National Express, Megabus and Flixbus) will continue to operate although seats are scarce and prices are rising.

On the day of the FA Cup Final, National Express has round-trip tickets from Manchester direct to Wembley Stadium for £54 return.