WEST MIDLANDS RAILWAY:
West Midlands Railway (WMR) is urging passengers to only travel if essential, with industrial action set to impact timetables this week (w/c Dec 12).
The operator is also asking passengers travelling by rail over the entire Christmas period to check their journeys carefully as industrial action may impact trains, particularly those in the early morning and late evening.
Significant disruption in expected on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday next week due to industrial action by members of the RMT union. Trains will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm on certain routes only. Some routes will have no train service.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: “It is very disappointing that our customers will once again be impacted by this unnecessary industrial action.
“With only a very limited service running and some routes with no trains at all, our advice to passengers is to only travel if your journey is essential. If you do travel over the Christmas period, please check your train carefully.
“Anyone holding a ticket for travel on a strike day can claim a full refund from their point of purchase.”
The following routes will have a limited service on Tuesday 13 December, Wednesday 14 December and Friday 16 December:
- Cross-City Line (Lichfield Trent Valley – Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street)
- Wolverhampton-Birmingham
- Birmingham New Street-Birmingham International
- Birmingham New Street – London Euston via Northampton (London Northwestern Railway service)
- Birmingham New Street – Crewe via Wolverhampton (London Northwestern Railway service)
No services will run on any other WMR route on these dates, including all routes via Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham-Shrewsbury and Nuneaton-Leamington Spa.
Members of the TSSA union at WMR will also strike on Saturday 17 December, further impacting services. Timetables for this date are being finalised and will be published next week.
A normal timetable is expected to be in operation on all routes on Thursday 15 December following a later start up.
Passengers are also being warned to expect disruption over the Christmas period due to further industrial action by RMT members.
Timetables for journeys from Sunday 18 December until Christmas Eve are currently being finalised and will be published next week. No train service will run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
To stay up to date with how industrial action is impacting WMR services, visit www.wmr.uk/industrialaction
TRANSPORT FOR WALES:
Rail passengers are being warned to prepare for disruption across the Wales and Borders network during December and January.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) have announced strike action will take place on 13-14, 16-17 and 24-27 December and 3-4 and 6-7 January.
This will significantly disrupt the rail network across the whole of Wales, England and Scotland.
Transport for Wales is not involved in the industrial action. However, the industrial action resulting from the dispute between the unions and Network Rail means TfW will be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure.
Industrial action
13-14 and 16-17 December and 3-4 and 6-7 January – only services in and around Cardiff will be able to operate
The majority of services across the Wales and Borders network will be suspended. As on previous strike days, an hourly service will run between Cardiff and Newport, Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymey.
No other services across the Wales and Borders network will be able to operate on strike days.
On 15 December and 5 January, a full timetable will operate but services will start later than normal – night shift signalling shifts will be affected by the strikes, so services can only start when early shift signallers arrive for duty. For more information visit Industrial action | Transport for Wales (tfw.wales)
24-27 December
Services will finish earlier than normal on 24 December and start later on 27 December due to the industrial action. There are no services on 25 and 26 December.
Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Transport for Wales Chief Operations Officer, said: “The Christmas and New Year period is traditionally a very busy time for the rail industry and this year with a number of strike days taking place throughout December and January it’s vital passengers check for the latest information before making their journeys.
“We are continuing to advise people to only travel by rail on strike days if they have checked on journey planners first. Despite not being involved in the strikes, only around 10% of our services will be running and the majority of the Wales and Borders network will have no services at all.”
Other operators – Great Western Railway
GWR will be able to operate to/from Cardiff on 13/14/16 December and 3/4/6 January, but not on either Saturday 17 December or 7 January.
Great Western Railway services will not be running on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 December
Trains between London and South Wales will run but will be diverted between Swindon and Newport – extending journey times by around 25 minutes.
- An hourly service will operate between London Paddington and Swansea
- These trains will stop additionally at Patchway
- Shuttle buses are planned between Patchway and Bristol Parkway
Visit Christmas travel | Great Western Railway (gwr.com) for more information
Planned engineering work
With expected lower numbers of travellers over the Christmas period, TfW is taking the opportunity to deliver major pieces of infrastructure work. The railway line from Cardiff Bay to Pontypridd, Merthyr Tydfil and Treherbert, including the City Line will close to trains between 24 December 2022 – 31 December 2022. Followed closely by a closure of the railway lines between Pontypridd to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, this will take place from 2-24 January 2023.
During this time, bus replacement services will be in operation and passengers should check before they travel at www.tfw.wales
Network Rail will be carrying out engineering works between Swansea and Carmarthen between December 24 and 0400 on 27 December, when trains are not scheduled to run. Further engineering works between the two locations is planned to take place between December 31 and January 2, with buses replacing trains.
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY:
Train operator Great Western Railway is warning of significant disruption to rail services during December and January but expects trains in the week before Christmas will continue to operate.
Trades unions have announced industrial action, including strike action and action short of strike, over December and January that will affect rail services from 13 December to 18 December 2022, and from 24 December 2022 to 8 January 2023.
A reduced, revised timetable will operate across several train operators, including GWR, for most of this period.
On strike days (13/14; 16/17 December; 3/4 and 6/7 January) only an extremely reduced service will operate on a limited number of routes. Some parts of the GWR network will have no service at all. Services will start later (07:30) and all journeys must be completed by 18:30.
On the days between the strikes (15 December and 5 January), a reduced timetable will operate, and trains will start later. On the days after the strikes (18 December and 8 January) trains will start later and there could be short-notice cancellations and alterations.
Should strike action be called off, there will still be considerable disruption across the rail network while work is carried out to restore timetables.
From Monday 19 December to Saturday 24 December a full timetable is planned to run.
However, trains will finish much earlier than usual on Christmas Eve; and customers should check their journey before travelling, travel earlier in the day and you are advised to reserve a seat on services. We strongly recommend anyone travelling on Christmas Eve plans to finish their journey by lunchtime that day.
After Christmas and throughout the new-year period, a reduced timetable will operate on all routes, and there will be some late-night cancellations.
On the days affected, passengers are advised to find an alternative way to travel.
Where services are running, customers should only travel by train if absolutely necessary, and it is highly recommended that a seat reservation is made*. Other train operators are also affected by this action, so onward travel could also be affected.
Where we are able to run services, they are expected to be extremely busy and we are not able to provide bus replacement services.
Customers who have already purchased tickets for strike days can claim a full refund or amend their ticket; those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to Delay Repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more.
To help customers, tickets will be valid for travel on alternative days on GWR services as follows:
- Tickets for 13, 14, 16, 17 December can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday 20 December
- Tickets for 24, 27 December can be used the day before (where applicable), or up to and including Thursday 29 December
- Tickets for 3, 4, 6, 7 January can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday 10 January
Season-ticket holders can apply for compensation through the Delay Repay scheme.
For more detailed information, including when journey planners will be updated with the latest train times, please click here.
