Explainer
Train strikes: When are the walkouts and which rail services are affected?
Tens of thousands of rail workers are preparing for further strikes, during October, in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
A number of strikes were averted in September when rail unions postponed planned action, as a mark of respect, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Mass walkouts have caused travel misery across the country this summer - but despite ongoing talks between unions and the rail industry, there has been no resolution.
Services could also be impacted before and after strike days due to the knock-on effect. People are urged to plan ahead and only travel if necessary.
Some parts of the country will have no trains during a strike by the rail unions.
Passengers can check the status of their journey by visiting National Rail, their train operating company’s website, or social media.
Read on to find out how the strikes could affect your local service.
At a glance: When are the next strikes happening?
Monday, September 26-Tuesday, September 27: Members of the TSSA at nine train operating companies and Network Rail will walk out from midday on Monday 26 until midday on Tuesday 27 September.
Saturday, October 1: Members of the drivers union Aslef at 12 companies will walk out, affecting travel for delegates and visitors to and from the Conservative Party conference, in Birmingham.
The conference is taking place between Sunday, October 2 and Wednesday, October 5.
Strike action could also affect those organising and competing in the London Marathon, which will take place the following day.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has said its members at Network Rail and 14 train operators will strike that same day.
It added the stoppage will bring the railway to an effective standstill, adding it had received no further offers from the rail industry to help come to a negotiated settlement.
Wednesday, October 5: Less than a week later Aslef members from the same 12 companies will carry out strike action once more.
Aslef has warned it is in for the “long haul” as the rail disputes remain deadlocked.
Saturday, October 8: Later that week, around 40,000 RMT members will take to picket lines, effectively shutting down railway networks across the country.
The disruption will affect delegates heading to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham and the London Marathon.
However, union chief Mick Lynch has said it was encouraging that the new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan had met with the union.
Monday, October 10: Workers on ScotRail will strike on October 10 in a dispute over pay, the RMT union announced.
Monday, September 26-Tuesday, September 27
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) announced that its members at nine train operating companies as well as Network Rail (NR) will walk out from midday on Monday 26 until midday on Tuesday 27 September.
The strike action will coincide with the Labour Party Conference, being held in Liverpool.
The train companies affected are:
Avanti West Coast
c2c
CrossCountry
East Midlands Railway
Great Western Railway
LNER
Southeastern
TransPennine Express
West Midlands Trains
Saturday, October 1:
The railway network will be effectively shut down when thousands of members from Aslef and the RMT take to picket lines.
The organisations involved in the Aslef strike are:
Avanti West Coast
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
Greater Anglia
Great Western Railway
Hull Trains
LNER
London Overground
Northern Trains
Southeastern
TransPennine Express
West Midlands Trains
Meanwhile, the companies involved in the RMT strike are:
Network Rail
Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
Greater Anglia
LNER
East Midlands Railway
c2c
Great Western Railway
Northern Trains
South Eastern
South Western
RailwayTranspennine Express
Avanti West Coast
West Midlands Trains
GTR (including Gatwick Express)
Wednesday, October 5:
Aslef has said its members from the same 12 companies will walk out for a second time in five days.
These organisations include:
Avanti West Coast
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
Greater Anglia
Great Western Railway
Hull Trains
LNER
London Overground
Northern Trains
Southeastern
TransPennine Express
West Midlands Trains
Saturday, October 8:
The rail union RMT has announced more than 40,000 railway workers will walkout across the country on October 8.
RMT members from 15 train operating companies will take to picket lines, effectively shutting down the railway network in an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We have received notification of another strike by the RMT on Saturday October 8, just one week after another walkout it has co-ordinated with train drivers at Aslef.
“This latest strike will again mean very significant disruption for passengers, and we’ll be asking people to only travel if absolutely necessary due to the reduced service that will be in place.
“Full timetables for all upcoming strike days will be published in due course.”
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Why are the workers striking and what are those involved saying?
Unions are calling for a salary increase, saying workers are facing a real-terms pay cut and are increasingly struggling to make ends meet due to the cost of living crisis.
There are also concerns around proposed reforms to modernise the railway sector.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Transport workers are joining a wave of strike action on October 1st, sending a clear message to the government and employers that working people will not accept continued attacks on pay and working conditions at a time when big business profits are at an all-time high.
”The Summer of Solidarity we have seen will continue into the autumn and winter if employers and the government continue to refuse workers reasonable demands.
“We want a settlement to these disputes where our members and their families can get a square deal. And we will not rest until we get a satisfactory outcome.”
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We would much rather not be in this position. We don’t want to go on strike - withdrawing your labour, although a fundamental human right, is always a last resort for this trade union - but the train companies have been determined to force our hand.
“They are telling train drivers to take a real-terms pay cut. With inflation now running at 12.3% - and set, it is said, to go higher - these companies are saying that drivers should be prepared to work just as hard, for just as long, but for considerably less.
“The companies with whom we are in dispute have not offered us a penny. It is outrageous that they expect us to put up with a real-terms pay cut for a third year in a row.
“That’s why we are going on strike. To persuade the companies to be sensible, to do the right thing, and come and negotiate properly with us. Not to run up and say, ‘Our hands are tied and the government will not allow us to offer you an increase’.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “This is incredibly disappointing. Not only will people not be able to get to work, school or doctors' appointments, these unnecessary strikes will also jeopardise the thousands taking part in the London Marathon, raising much needed money for hundreds of charities.
“Our railway is in desperate need of modernisation but all more strikes will do is take it back to the dark ages and push passengers further away.
"We urge union bosses to reconsider this divisive action and instead work with their employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.”
I've planned a train journey - can I get a ticket refund or change my travel plans?
National Rail has not yet issued guidance for the October strikes on its website.
For previous strikes, it has said that if a service is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, passengers will be entitled to a change or refund from the original retailer of their ticket.
There has also been the option to use the ticket the day before the strike date, or for several days afterwards.
In some cases, passengers have also been able to use their ticket on another train company or an alternative route.
Are these latest strikes linked to the recent industrial action?
The stoppages will continue the series of strikes by tens of thousands of workers in several sectors of the economy this year amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
A number of rail unions have walked out this summer in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions, crippling services across the country.
RMT members have already staged a number of mass walkouts, effectively grinding rail services to a halt, and warned the strikes could go on "indefinitely".
ASLEF previously called strike action across seven train operators on Saturday, July 30. The industrial action meant there was virtually no service in the affected areas.
Members walked out again on Saturday, August 13, leading to rail station closures, cancellations and reduced services.
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) members previously held strikes on Thursday 18 and Saturday, August 20.
In September the RMT, Aslef and TSSA postponed strike action planned across four separate days, after the death of the Queen on Thursday, September 8.