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New National Rail Strikes 5 to 8 April and Cross Country on 13 April

Aslef members at the usual 16 rail companies will take part in rolling one-day walk outs between 5 and 8 April, along with a six-day overtime ban from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April and Monday 8 April to Tuesday 9 April

Companies affected are-
Friday 5 April- Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains and Cross Country

Saturday 6 April- Chiltern, Great Western, LNER, Northern and Trans Pennine

Monday 8 April- C2C, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, South Eastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western- main line, depot drivers and Island Line

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68617288

Posted by
2713 posts

Thanks so much for the notice about the strikes. I am trying to figure out if this will affect me.

On April 6 I need to get from Salisbury to Gatwick. I had planned to take a South Western train from Salisbury to Waterloo, then catch a Southern train or Gatwick Express to Gatwick. I have an 8:35 flight out of Gatwick on April 7, which gives me all day on the 6th to get to Gatwick. It looks like South Western and Southern will not be striking that day. But will they be involved in an overtime ban that day, and if so, will that be likely to affect me? Would I be better off taking a bus? It appears to be a much longer trip on the bus.

Also, I had hoped to take day trips from Salisbury to Winchester and Portsmouth on April 3, 4, or 5. That would involve South Western and Great Western trains which will not be on strike those days. But again, will the overtime ban be an issue? Will all the train companies be involved in overtime bans on the 4th and 5th?

Any light you could shed on this would be very much appreciated.

Posted by
5763 posts

All 16 companies will be involved in the overtime bans on those days.

It would be hoped that individual trains affected would be updated on the Journey Check pages of the relevant train companies by 10pm the previous night. But you need to be able to be nimble. In my part of the world, Northern Rail, on such days we get cancellations (and sometimes reinstated trains) happening at very short notice through the day. I have had trains cancelled after they were meant to depart on such days.

It really is a case of being flexible and patient. If a train is cancelled by 10pm there is no delay repay compensation, after 10pm normal rules apply. So a 1 hour delay gives you a 100% refund.

There is only one bus a day from Salisbury to London.

What happens on South Western is that many Salisbury to Waterloo trains run through from Exeter. On days such as that the service is often split at Salisbury- so Exeter to Salisbury is vulnerable, Salisbury to Waterloo is more resilient.

And there are so many trains London to Gatwick that is not an issue, as long as you get there before the evening commuter peak.

Salisbury to Winchester there is a Citybus #68 at 1000, returning at 1440 and 1638.

Posted by
5763 posts

Additionally the RMT union are taking strike action at Cross Country trains on Saturday 13 April- details of the disruption to be confirmed

Posted by
5763 posts

PM sent to @Carroll on this week's SWT and GWR disruption including engineering work east of Salisbury on 6 April leading to diversions via Southampton.

EDIT (3 April)- SWT have issued their revised and final schedule for Saturday 6 April this evening. Travelling to Salisbury or beyond on Saturday is going to be a real mess as the diverted trains have now been cancelled, so it is a 2 train and one bus combination.

Reaching some intermediate stations is even more complicated. The strike and overtime ban for SWT went live a few hours ago and is substantially amended from the previous issue.

Anyone travelling anywhere on SWT from 5 to 8 April needs to re-check their journeys.

Posted by
6323 posts

I am so happy that today is my train day and not later this week.

Posted by
2713 posts

Mardee, I am glad you are not affected. Fortunately, I Ieft open the entire day of April 6 to get from Salisbury to Gatwick. Thanks to Stuart’s help, it looks like we will be able to get there, though it won’t be the most efficient or speedy journey. I am so grateful for Stuart’s assistance!

Posted by
5763 posts

The Cross Country Strike on 13 April is now suspended pending further talks