Train strike: Services affected in London and Home Counties on Saturday
A train strike is set to affect journeys across the capital, Home Counties and beyond on Saturday, with more industrial action planned in the coming weeks.
Aslef union members at nine train companies across the country, including London Overground, LNER, Greater Anglia and Southeastern, will walk out from 12.01am to 11.59pm on Saturday 13 August.
Aslef, which will mount picket lines outside railway stations, said drivers have not received a pay rise for three years, amid the worsening disputes over jobs, pay and conditions.
The union said it expected continuing support from the public despite the impact of the action on tens of thousands of passengers across the country.
The strikes will also hit Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains and West Midlands Trains.
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said that the train companies were unable to offer a pay rise without the permission of the Department for Transport, but the government was insisting it had nothing to do with them.
He warned that if there is no breakthrough to the long-running row soon, more strikes are likely to be called.
“We don’t want to go on strike – strikes are always a last resort – but the companies, and the government, have forced our hand.
“We don’t want to inconvenience passengers because our friends and families use public transport too, because we believe in building trust in the railways in Britain, and because we don’t want to lose money by taking industrial action.
“The companies have said that they cannot, or will not, give our members an increase.
“They blame the government – a result, they say, of the dodgy deals they did when the franchises were turned into management contracts – while the government says it’s down to the train operators. So we are caught in a Catch-22 situation where each side blames the other.”
Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “The Aslef leadership has for the second time in as many weeks decided to impose yet more uncertainty for passengers and businesses by disrupting passengers’ weekend plans.
“My open invitation for talks with Aslef stands. The railway is too important to this country to allow decline but, with passenger numbers still 20% below pre-pandemic levels, securing a bright future means we have to adapt to attract more people back.
“We call on Aslef to come to the table, so we can fund the pay rise we want to give our people while delivering the improvements in Sunday services and greater punctuality our passengers deserve.”
The Department for Transport said it was “entirely false” to claim the government was blocking negotiations.
“We have said from the outset we urge the unions and industry to agree a deal that is fair for railway staff, passengers and taxpayers.”
It said rail workers have seen above average pay increases over the past decade, with their wages increasing by around 25% from £35,000 in 2011 to £44,000 in 2021.
It added that rail staff pay increases must be “fair and in line with the wider public sector.”
Members of the RMT and TSSA unions will strike on August 18 and 20 while industrial action will be taken on August 19 by London Underground and London bus drivers.
Rail operators release timetables for reduced services during Aslef strike
Although the walkout directly affects just nine companies, others have warned that the knock-on effect could cause significant disruption.
A breakdown of the impact across the rail operators is as follows.
Avanti West Coast
All services across Avanti West Coast routes have been cancelled.
Chiltern Railways
The company is “strongly” advising customers to avoid travelling unless they have to, given a knock-on effect from other operators.
Busy trains, short-notice cancellations and delays are all thought to be likely.
A reduced service of one train per hour is running on the Aylesbury Vale Parkway – Marylebone route between noon and 8pm.
CrossCountry
CrossCountry will not run any services on Saturday.
Gatwick Express
Although its drivers are not striking, services are likely to be “impacted” given industrial action on London Overground and Southeastern.
Great Western Railway
A limited service will operate between Bristol Temple Meads – London Paddington, Reading – Oxford and Reading – Basingstoke.
Timetables will start later and finish earlier than normal.
Greater Anglia
Greater Anglia has asked customers to avoid travelling with their “heavily reduced and disrupted” service.
One train per hour will run in each direction between London – Norwich, London – Colchester, Southend Victoria – Liverpool Street, and Liverpool Street – Stansted Airport.
Heathrow Express
All Heathrow Express services have been cancelled.
Hull Trains
A “significantly reduced” timetable is running, consisting of one service to and from King’s Cross.
London North Eastern Railway
No trains are running north from Edinburgh Waverley, while southbound trains are restricted to one every two hours.
No trains are running north from Leeds, while just one train is running south to London King’s Cross.
One northbound train per hour is running from King’s Cross, while one northbound and one southbound train is running every two hours from Newcastle.
London Northwestern Railway
No London Northwestern Railway services are running.
Northern
Although services are running as normal, strikes affecting other operators could make trains busier than normal.
Southeastern
All Southeastern services have been cancelled.
Southern
Southern drivers are not involved in Aslef’s strike, but services may be “impacted” given disruption on London Overground and Southeastern.
Stansted Express
Stansted Express have advised customers to avoid travelling on Saturday.
One train each way is running between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street every hour.
Engineering work means there will be a bus during the journey between Waltham Cross and Harlow Town.
Transport for Wales
Although not directly affected by strikes, services are likely to be hit by the reduced timetable of other operators.
Customers have been advised to avoid non-essential travel between Carmarthen – Newport, Cardiff – Lydney, Shrewsbury – Wolverhampton, and North Wales Coast, since trains are expected to be busy.
West Midlands Railway
No West Midlands Railway services are running on Saturday.
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