UK rail passengers have been warned to expect disruption to services during early December due to a series of one-day strikes being held at 17 train operators.
Train drivers union ASLEF is planning to hold the strikes from 2-8 December across the train companies as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. The union is also implementing an overtime ban for its members at all operators from 1-9 December.
Unlike previous strikes, drivers at the rail companies will walk out for 24 hours on different dates across the seven-day period, although there will be no walkouts on Monday, 4 December.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said in a statement: “Train companies will operate as many trains as possible throughout the period, but there will be wide regional variations, with some operators running no services at all on strike days.
“Services that are running on strike days will start later and finish much earlier than usual – typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.”
The ASLEF strikes will take place as follows:
Saturday 2 December: East Midlands Railway and LNER.
Sunday 3 December: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern, Thameslink, London Northwestern and West Midlands Trains.
Tuesday 5 December: C2C and Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express).
Wednesday 6 December: Southeastern, Southern (including Gatwick Express) and South Western Railway.
Thursday 7 December: CrossCountry and GWR.
Friday 8 December: Northern and TransPennine Express.
A RDG spokesperson added: “This unnecessary and avoidable industrial action called by the ASLEF leadership has been targeted to disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period.
“It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £175 million a month in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the covid downturn.”
But Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, insisted that the union was “determined to win this dispute” and secure a “significant pay rise for train drivers who have not had an increase since 2019 while the cost of living has soared”.
“We will continue to take industrial action until the train companies and/or the government sits down and negotiates with us in good faith,” added Whelan.