'Nothing is running': Rail strikes cause widespread travel chaos across England

Credit: PA

Rail users are facing widespread travel chaos, as train drivers walkout for the second time in four days.

The strike action by members of the ASLEF union will wipe out services in many parts of the country on Wednesday and leave less than half of trains operating.

Those that do run will start later and end earlier - and are likely to cause issues for early services on Thursday morning.

Commuters faced eight days of disruption in the past month alone, with overtime bans causing delays this week, as well as an all out strike on Saturday.

The drivers are walking out again on Wednesday - coinciding with the annual the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester - in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

There were also overtime bans on Friday, and drivers only worked their designated hours every weekday this week, from October 2 to 6.

Mick Whelan picketing with Aslef union members. Credit: PA

Aslef union said train companies have always failed to employ enough drivers to provide a proper service.

The rail strike is “solid, nothing is running”, Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan said on Wednesday.

He joined striking workers, who had brought a life-sized cut-out of the Where’s Wally? cartoon character with Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s face imposed on it to a picket line outside Euston station in central London.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (second right) on a picket line at Euston station in London. Credit: PA

Mr Whelan said: “What we are seeing from the Tory conference is the managed decline of our railways.

“We are striking today because we still haven’t seen the transport minister or the companies for the best part of six months.

“The mood of the train drivers in the UK is that we will keep striking until we get a resolution that suits them.”

Here's how each of the train operators will be affected:

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast will not be running services on Wednesday due to the strike action.

Customers who booked tickets to travel on strike days can claim a full, fee-free refund from their point of purchase.

Those with pre-booked tickets for travel on a strike day can use their ticket the day before or the two days after.

Avanti is to run its normal timetable during overtime bans, but recommends rail users check before they travel.

C2C

There will be no C2C service on Wednesday.

During the overtime ban this week, there will be a reduced peak time service and two trains per hour during off-peak hours across all routes.

First and last trains will remain the same.

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways will not run any routes on Wednesday.

This week, rail replacement buses will be in place for parts of the journey and Chiltern Railways will be running an amended timetable.

RMT members began their first wave of strikes in June 2022. Credit: PA

CrossCountry

There will be no CrossCountry services on Wednesday.

Tickets for Wednesday can be used on the day before the date on the ticket or up to and including Friday, October 6.

However, throughout the overtime ban, train services will be reduced - the list of trains affected on each day is here.

East Midlands Railway

There will be no East Midlands Railway service on Wednesday .

East Midlands says its journey planners have now been updated for days where an overtime ban is in place. Check here for updates.

Gatwick Express

The usual direct Gatwick Express service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and Brighton will not run.

To help customers, extra stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon have been added, so these trains will be operating as Southern services.

Gatwick Express tickets will be valid on Southern and Thameslink at no additional cost. Great Northern

There will be no Great Northern services on Wednesday.

Trains on Thursday - the day after the strike - will start much later than usual, with some routes having no services before 7am.

On days when an overtime ban is in place, there will be an amended timetable with fewer services will run.

Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR) will be operating a reduced and revised timetable on Wednesday.

Many parts of the network will have no service at all. Services that go ahead will start from 7.30am and all journeys will end by 6.30pm.

Tickets for Wednesday can be used the day before or up to and including Friday, October 6.

GWR warns there will likely be short-notice alterations or cancellations to its services on overtime bans days.

Check GWR's website for updates this week.

Greater Anglia and Stansted Express

On Wednesday, a limited service will run between Norwich and London, Colchester and London, Southend Victoria and London and Stansted Airport and London.

Some trains will run to Cambridge.

First and last trains will be different and on Thursday, services will start later.

Other routes will have no services at all.

Reduced services are expected to run on both strike and overtime ban days.

You can click here to see what plans are in place on all affected dates.

Heathrow Express

On Wednesday, there will be fewer trains going to Heathrow Airport and they will start later and finish earlier.

Trains will run between Paddington and Heathrow between 7.40am and 6.25pm.

Services between Terminal 5 and Paddington will run between 7.42am and 6.57pm.

And there will be trains between 7.47am and 7.02pm from Heathrow Central into Paddington.

The Elizabeth Line will service customers travelling from London to Heathrow.

Heathrow has not announced any changes during overtime bans. Click here for more information about its services.

LNER

LNER services will run on an "extremely limited timetable" during strike days, with minor alterations on days before and after them.

You can find more details here.

London Northwestern Railway

There will be no London Northwestern Railway (LNR) service on Wednesday.

Buses will replace trains between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey on days when there are overtime bans.

LNER said, as of Thursday, that services on overtime ban days should operate as normal.

Northern

There will be no Northern service on Wednesday and no rail replacement bus services.

Some Northern stations may be closed or have reduced hours due to limited staffing and services. 

Days affected by overtime bans are likely to cause some short-notice alterations or cancellations. You can check here for updates.

The train arrivals board shows extensive delays on previous strike days. Credit: PA

Southern

A limited Southern shuttle service will run, calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only.

On Thursday, some routes will have no services before 7am due to the knock-on effect from the Aslef strike day on Wednesday. This could be later depending on where you are travelling from, so make sure to check your journey.

To help customers, extra stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon have been added on to the usually non-stop Gatwick Express trains, so these will be operating as Southern services.

There will be between one to two trains per hour on each service during strike days.

Southwestern Railway

An extremely limited service will operate on a small number of lines during strike days, and most of the Southwestern Railway mainland network will be closed. There will be no service on the Island Line.

Customers are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.

Reduced services will operate across the mainland South Western Railway network on overtime ban days, with an hourly service on the Island Line.

Find out more here.

Southeastern

There will be no Southeastern service in operation on any routes on strike days.

Southeastern expects to run a full service during overtime ban periods.

Thameslink

There will be no Thameslink services on Wednesday.

Trains the day after the strikes, Thursday, will start much later than usual, with some routes having no services before 7am.

No service at Moorgate, Old Street, Essex Road, Highbury & Islington and Drayton Park will run on Friday. Instead, trains will be diverted to and from London Kings Cross, or terminated and started back from Finsbury Park.

On days when an overtime ban is in place, there will be an amended timetable with fewer services will run.

TransPennine

No TransPennine Express service will run on any route during the strikes on Wednesday.

There will also be some early morning and late evening alterations on the days before or after a strike day.

TransPennine Express plans to run its normal timetable during overtime ban days but warns there could be significant disruption to your journey, so be sure to check before you travel.

West Midlands Railway

There will be no West Midlands Railway service on Wednesday.

On days when the overtime ban is in place, reduced train services will operate between Birmingham New Street and Hereford and Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury - and a bus service will replace trains between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa via Coventry.

The overtime bans may lead to amended timetables and on-the-day cancellations, particularly if there is disruption to services, so check before you travel.

How will services in Wales be affected?

Transport for Wales is not affected by strike action and services will run as normal every day over the next week. 

Avanti West Coast, which provides services between Bangor and Chester, and Bangor and Wrexham will not be running services on Wednesday due to the strike action.

On Thursday, there will be an amended timetable post-strike.

GWR has said that services will operate on Wednesday between Cardiff and Bristol Temple Meads only.

The service provider has said that it expects trains to much busier than previous strike days and advised that customers may wish to travel on other days if they can.

GWR tickets for strike days will also be valid for travel on alternative days. Tickets for Wednesday can be used the day before or up to and including Friday, October 6.

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