Strikes set to disrupt rail travel in first week of January

Passengers with Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink are being warned, regrettably, that services in the first week of January will be extremely limited with no trains at all on Thursday 5 January.

This is due to nationwide industrial action by members of the RMT and ASLEF unions.

From now until Monday 2 January – check before you travel due to national RMT train companies overtime ban

• Trains may be subject to change and cancellation on the day
• Pre-planned engineering work continues to close Victoria with trains diverted to London Bridge
• On New Year’s Eve the regular Saturday timetable will operate and Blackfriars will close towards midnight to help manage crowds watching the fireworks – please plan ahead and check last trains, as some will be before midnight

Tuesday & Wednesday 3 & 4 January and Friday & Saturday 6 & 7 January – travel only if absolutely necessary due to national RMT strike at Network Rail and train operators

• Many routes closed entirely south of London. Services start later each day and finish much earlier than normal (from 7.30am to 4.30/6.30pm, with last trains as early as 3.30pm on East Coast Main Line routes to/from London King’s Cross on Friday 6 January). See service map
• School children in particular should plan ahead and check online at nationalrail.co.uk
• Gatwick Express will not run but Gatwick will be served by eight trains an hour in each direction by Southern and Thameslink
• With regret, customers will need to find another way to reach their destination
• No trains will run between St Neots (south of Peterborough) and London (see editor’s notes)
• Services will resume after the previous day’s strikes at around 7.30am

Thursday 5 January – no trains on any part of the network due to national strike by train driver members of the ASLEF union

Saturday & Sunday 7 & 8 January – pre-planned engineering work

Sunday 8 January – late start to services

First and last trains on RMT strike days when they are running will be particularly busy. If passengers absolutely have to travel, they should consider going later or returning earlier if possible, especially as no alternative transport can be made available.

Angie Doll, Chief Operating Officer at Govia Thameslink Railway which operates all four train companies, said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption this ongoing RMT action will cause our customers over the entire festive period, until 8 January.

“Regrettably, due to industrial action, our train services will be extremely limited in the first week of January with no trains at all on Thursday 5 January. Please plan ahead and, if services are running, travel only if absolutely necessary.

“Services could also be subject to last-minute change on other days beforehand. On New Year’s Eve we’ll be running our regular Saturday timetable. We do have late night trains but it’s essential to check what’s running and your return journey before heading out.

“Vital engineering work is also closing much of the route north of London to Peterborough on Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 January. Alternative travel advice is available online at nationalrail.co.uk.”

Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: “No one wants to see these strikes go ahead, and we can only apologise to passengers and to the many businesses who will be hit by this unnecessary and damaging disruption.

“We would advise passengers to only travel if it is absolutely necessary during this period, allow extra time and check when their first and last train will depart. Passengers with tickets for between 3-7 January can use their ticket the day before the ticket date, or up to and including Tuesday 10 January.”

Customer information

Revised train times can all be seen in online journey planners such as National Rail Enquiries (nationalrail.co.uk)

For details on tickets and compensation during this period please visit train company websites.