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Fresh rail strike to cause more travel chaos on Wednesday

04 Oct 2022 3 minute read
Photo TfW

Rail passengers will suffer fresh travel chaos on Wednesday because of another strike in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will walk out, causing huge disruption to services.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan told the PA news agency the dispute would now continue until the UK Government intervened.

He urged Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan to “lift the shackles” from train companies so they could make a pay offer to workers.

“The message I am receiving from my members is that they are in this for the long haul and if anything they want industrial action to be increased,” he said.

Ms Trevelyan, speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, indicated that she now sees “more clearly” the perspective of the railway workers after meeting with Mr Whelan and RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.

She said she met the pair “because I really wanted to understand where they’re coming from”.

The train drivers’ strike will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express), Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

Members of the TSSA will strike at CrossCountry and take other forms of industrial action at several other operators.

The TSSA is also planning industrial action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at more than a dozen train companies and Network Rail will strike on Saturday.

Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales is not involved in Wednesday’s strike but is warning some services are likely to be extremely busy as a result of the severely reduced timetable put in place by other operators.

Passengers are advised to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journey

TfW recommends passengers use services between Swansea – Bridgend – Cardiff – Newport, Holyhead – Chester – Manchester – Crewe, Shrewsbury – Wolverhampton (Birmingham New Street will be closed), Cardiff – Gloucester for essential travel only.

Saturday’s RMT strike will significantly disrupt the rail network across the whole of the UK.

Transport for Wales is again not involved in the industrial action. However, due to the strike, it will be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure.

The majority of rail services across the Wales and Borders network will be suspended on 8 October.

A reduced services (for essential travel only) will operate between Cardiff Central – Treherbert / Aberdare / Merthyr / Rhymney and between Cardiff Central – Newport.

Services will operate between Cardiff Central and Rhymney, Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil in an hourly service in each direction between 07:30 and 18:30.

Customers are reminded there will be very limited road transport capacity between Radyr and Cardiff before 07:30 and after 18:30, when TfW is unable to operate trains via Llandaf and Cathays.

The first services of the day that depart Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil will all be timed so they will be arriving into Radyr after 07:00. No trains will run before 07:00 on any lines except between Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil – Radyr.

TfW has updated its journey planners with the latest information.


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