Rail strikes have caused significant travel disruption this summer, with unions locked in a long-running dispute with Network Rail over pay and working conditions.
Action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) brought the majority of rail services to a halt on several days in June and July, and drivers’ union Aslef has also staged walk-outs.
Union leaders have criticised Network Rail’s “paltry” pay offers, and are seeking rises in line with inflation amid the cost of living crisis.
More action is planned on national rail networks in August, along with strikes on the London Underground and Overground.
Here is everything you need to know.
When are the rail strikes in August?
Unions have planned strikes for:
- Saturday 13 August
- Thursday 18 August
- Saturday 20 August
The 13 August strike is organised by Aslef and includes train drivers at nine rail companies:
- Avanti West Coast
- CrossCountry
- Greater Anglia
- Great Western Railway
- Hull Trains
- LNER
- London Overground
- Southeastern
- West Midlands Trains
The RMT has organised the strikes on 18 August and 20 August.
These major walkouts are expected to include 40,000 workers – around 20,000 from Network Rail, including signalling and track maintenance workers – and the remainder from 14 train operating companies.
This means the scale of disruption is likely to be similar to the debilitating walkouts in June, which involved 13 operators.
Here are the companies involved:
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- Greater Anglia
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Great Western Railway
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern
- South Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- West Midlands Trains
- GTR (including Gatwick Express)
- London Overground
- Great Western Railway
- Hull Trains
- London Northwestern Railway
Which areas will be affected?
The strikes are expected to cause disruption across the whole country.
It is likely to affect football fans, including those attending Premier League games in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Brighton.
Network Rail has released a timetable for the strike days, and you can check your journey with its planner here.
If you have a ticket for travel on 13 August you can use this ticket either on the day before the date on the ticket or through and including Tuesday 16 August.
If your service has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you will be entitled to a change or refund from the original retailer of your ticket.
More on Strikes
When is the Tube strike?
Workers on London Underground are set to stage a 24-hour strike on Friday 19 August.
Overground workers employed by Arriva Rail London will stage a separate walkout on the same day.
About 10,000 Tube workers and 400 Overground workers are set to go on a strike which will last all day, causing significant disruption for commuters.
The capital will be further disrupted by a bus strike on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 August, largely affecting west London.
More than 1,600 drivers at Fulwell, Hounslow, Hounslow Heath, Park Royal, Shepherd’s Bush, Stamford Brook, and Tolworth depots will walk out.
The following routes will be affected by that action:
Fulwell
- Routes 33, 65, 71, 85, 281, 290, 371, 481, 671, 681, K3, N33 and N65
Hounslow
- Routes 110, 111, 117, 203, 419, E1, H22, H32, H37 and H98
Hounslow Heath
- Routes 105, 116, 216, 400, 411, 423, 635, 663, 696, 697, KU1, KU2 and KU3
Park Royal
- Routes 18, 220, 223, 224, 258, 266, 440, N18 and N266.
Shepherd’s Bush
- Routes 49, 70, 72, 94, 148, C1 and N72
Stamford Brook
- Routes 9, 211, 272, 283, E3, H91 and N9
Tolworth
- Routes 265, 293, 404, 406, 418, 465, 467, 470, 613, 662, 665, K1, K2, K4 K5 and S3
Why are workers striking?
Union leaders rejected Network Rail’s “paltry” offer of a 4 per cent pay rise, another two per cent next year and a further two per cent conditional on achieving “modernisation milestones”.
Instead, they have demanded a rise in line with inflation, which stands at nearly 10 per cent.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said workers were “more determined than ever” to secure their demands.
He claimed Network Rail “have not made any improvement” on their previous pay offer and had “upped the ante” by threatening workers with compulsory redundancies.
“Network Rail are still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators,” he added.
“The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay.
“Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and Government understands that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes, until we get a negotiated settlement.”
Network Rail’s chief negotiator Tim Shoveller said the RMT had “walked away from ongoing and constructive talks” and had made it “abundantly clear that their political campaign is taking precedence over representing their members’ interests”.
Tube workers are to walk out in a dispute over pensions and Overground workers are striking over pay.
https://inews.co.uk/news/august-train-strikes-lines-affected-full-list-rail-companies-1788290
