How to check if your train is cancelled by national rail strikes

FRESH travel strikes are taking place in July as part of the ongoing dispute over pay.

The RMT, led by general secretary Mick Lynch, are staging walk outs across the country, with many public transport services set to be cancelled or delayed.

How to check if your train is cancelled by rail strikes

A number of train operating companies will be affected by the July 2023 strikes.

National Rail advises travellers to use their Journey Planner to check their route before they travel.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast have advised that on the strike days, customers should expect the timetable and operating hours to be reduced significantly.

Services that do run are expected to be very busy.

Those who booked tickets to travel on July 22 and 29 before the industrial action was announced on June 22 can claim a full, fee-free refund from their point of purchase

Customers should continue to check the Avanti West Coast website for updates on cancellations and delays.

Chiltern Railways

On July 22, a very limited service will be in operation between 8am and 10pm.

There will be one train per hour from Marylebone to Banbury, one train per hour from Marylebone to Oxford, and one train per hour from Marylebone to Aylesbury.

The railway will also be closed between Amersham and Aylesbury all day due to planned engineering works.

The same applies on July 29, though on this day there will be periodic buses shuttling between Bicester North, Kings Sutton and Banbury.

Customers are also advised that on the days after the strikes, services will start later than usual.

CrossCountry

Limited services will run from Birmingham New Street to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley, Plymouth, Oxford, Peterborough, Derby and Manchester on the strike days.

There will be no services to Nottingham or Cardiff.

CrossCountry has warned of the possibility of last minute changes to the timetable, with customers being encouraged to check the website before travelling.

East Midlands Railway

East Midlands Railway will be operating a significantly reduced service on strike days.

They have requested that customers only travel by rail if absolutely necessary and to expect severe disruption if they do so.

Services will operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm, with one train per hour running in each direction on most routes.

Gatwick Express

The Gatwick Express will not operate the usual non-stop service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and Brighton during the week of the strikes.

Extra stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon have been added to the route but will operate as Southern services. 

Gatwick Express tickets are valid on Southern and Thameslink at no additional cost.

Great Northern

Great Northern and Thameslink routes north of London will start later and finish much earlier than normal.

Travellers are advised to check their first and last trains carefully, as there will be no alternative travel outside of these services.

Great Western Railway

Services will only operate for a limited period during the day.

Trains could also be affected by a limited number of short-notice cancellations and alterations. 

The Night Riviera Sleeper service will not operate.

Greater Anglia

Most routes will have a normal or near normal service during the hours, though some routes will have a reduced service, and a small number of routes will have no service at all.

Travellers are advised to use the journey planner to check their journey.

London North Eastern Railway

Many of LNER's usual trains will be running, though they are likely to be very busy.

The last train from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh is at 4.30pm, while the final service to Leeds will depart at 4.05pm

The last train from Edinburgh to London is at 4pm, with the final departure from Leeds at 3.45pm.

There will be no LNER services north of Edinburgh on the strike days, and there will also be no trains running north of Leeds.

London Northwestern Railway

A limited service will be running on a limited number of routes on the strike days.

Northern

Services will not be operating on most routes, with a "very limited" number of trains on the few running lines.

There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days for Northern services.

South Western Railway

A severely limited service will run between 7am and 7pm on strike days, and only on some routes.

This includes only four trains per hour between London Waterloo and Woking, and two per hour between London Waterloo and Basingstoke.

Southeastern

There will be a limited service running on the Southeastern network there will be no replacement buses.

Only 58 out of their 180 stations will be open and travellers are warned that they may be unable to board trains at stations where a limited service is running.

Southern

Many stations and routes will be closed, with just two trains running per hour from London Bridge and London Victoria to south-east London and the coast.

Services will run on the Brighton Mainline to London Bridge and London Victoria, with additional trains from Tattenham Corner, Epsom Downs, Sutton and West Croydon, via Crystal Palace.

Thameslink

There will be far fewer trains than normal on strike days, with travellers being warned that not all trains will stop at all stations.

If you do need to use a Thameslink service, always check your whole journey immediately before as disruptions or cancellations could change at the last minute.

TransPennine Express

Most services will see a significant reduction of trains on July 22 and July 29.

There will be a small number of services running between Manchester Piccadilly and York, York and Scarborough, Preston and Manchester Airport, and Sheffield and Cleethorpes.

There will also be significant disruption on Wednesday and Friday.

West Midlands Railway

Strike days will see a very limited service on West Midlands Railway.

Services that do operate will only do so between 7am and 7pm.

When are the national rail strikes?

The RMT will be striking on Saturday July 22 and Saturday July 29, with around 20,000 workers walking out.

The industrial action will have a wide-reaching effect on travel services across the country.

A fresh overtime ban has also been announced by train drivers.

On July 22, and from Monday July 31 to Saturday August 5, members of Aslef at 15 train operating companies will refuse to work overtime as part of the long-running dispute over pay.