UK Rail Strike: Passengers face ‘significantly disrupted’ travel until January

Rail travellers in the United Kingdom have been warned that travel would be “significantly disrupted” through the New Year due to a wave of industrial unrest sweeping the country.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association at CrossCountry staged a 24-hour strike beginning at 9 pm on Boxing Day December 26, as part of a long-running campaign for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase that addresses the rising cost of living.

Network Train have asked customers to plan ahead and verify before they go as “rail travel will be considerably affected throughout December and January”.




The Rail, Maritime, and Transport union's 48-hour strike, which began on Christmas Eve in a separate dispute over employment, wages, and conditions, will end at 6 am on Tuesday.

The TSSA union is worried that employee walkouts will have a big effect on Cross Country services, which cover a large part of the country, from Penzance to the Midlands, Wales and northern England, and Scottish cities as far north as Aberdeen.

TSSA members will strike at Great Western Railway from midday Wednesday to 11.59 am Thursday, and at West Midlands Trains from noon Wednesday to noon Thursday.

The Network Rail warning came as some trains juddered back to life on Tuesday following the Christmas shutdown and four days of strikes by RMT union members.

FAQs:

1. What are the dates of the nationwide rail strikes?
   The national rail strikes on January 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 will result in minimal or no national train service across all rail companies countrywide.
2. Why are trains striking in the United Kingdom?
   In the long-running dispute over wages and conditions on UK railroads, train drivers have planned a new 24-hour strike for January 5th.