Thousands of rail passengers face major disruption on Friday and Saturday as strike action by TSSA union members hits five major routes operated by London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Trains (WMT). Services will be significantly reduced, with no trains running after 7pm on Friday and early morning services cancelled on Saturday.
Strike Details and Affected Routes
The industrial action follows failed negotiations between the unions and the Department for Transport over improved rest-day working arrangements. TSSA roster clerks will walk out from 12.01am on Thursday until 12.01am on Friday, while duty train crew managers and control staff will strike from 12pm on Friday to 12pm on Saturday.
As a result, LNR will operate a drastically reduced timetable. No services will run on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley or on the Stafford to Crewe route via Stoke-on-Trent on both days. The following five major routes will have just one train per hour: Birmingham to Liverpool, London Euston to Crewe, Birmingham to London Euston via Northampton, Milton Keynes to London Euston, and Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey.
Service Timings and Cancellations
On Friday, trains will finish much earlier than usual. The final London Euston to Crewe service departs at 3.46pm, the last London Euston to Birmingham New Street at 4.26pm, and the final London Euston to Milton Keynes Central at 5.09pm. No trains will run after 7pm. On Saturday, services will not start until around 7am, meaning early morning trains are cancelled.
All WMR routes via Birmingham Snow Hill, the Camp Hill Line, Nuneaton to Leamington Spa, Birmingham New Street to Hereford, and Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury will have no service on Friday and Saturday. Some Sunday morning services may also be affected due to trains and crews being out of position.
Advice for Passengers and Refunds
LNR and WMT urge passengers to check journey planners before travelling, as timetables are still being updated. Full refunds are available for cancelled services, or tickets can be used on Thursday July 9 or Sunday July 12.
LNR said: “A significantly reduced service will be in operation on the London Northwestern Railway network on both Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July due to strike action by members of the TSSA union. Passengers should check their journeys before travelling on these dates.”
Union and Operator Statements
TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “These strikes will go ahead as planned because our members have not been given parity with those in other unions – a perfectly reasonable demand. As things stand, we face an intolerable situation. Our reps at West Midlands Trains have consulted the membership, and they remain determined to proceed with their legitimate action. The last round of industrial action caused a significant impact to services and the same will happen this time around.”
London Northwestern Railway’s customer experience director, Jonny Wiseman, said: “We are disappointed TSSA has called further unnecessary strike action which is set to cause significant disruption for our customers. We are working hard to reach a resolution to this dispute and urge TSSA to continue talks. We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause our customers and we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact as much as possible. If the strike action does go ahead we will be running a significantly reduced timetable on both dates.”
Limited Service on WMR Routes
West Midlands Trains will operate a limited service on some routes: Cross City Line (Lichfield - Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street) will have two trains per hour, while Wolverhampton - Walsall via Birmingham New Street and Rugeley Trent Valley – Birmingham International via Birmingham New Street will each have one train per hour.
