A little-known railway strike is set to disrupt travel from London this weekend, with passengers urged to avoid journeys to and from Euston station on Friday and Saturday. The walkout, organized by the TSSA union, will affect West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services, leading to a severely reduced timetable.
When is the strike happening?
The industrial action is scheduled for Friday, June 22, and Saturday, June 23. National Rail has warned that only a small number of trains will run on both days, and passengers should travel only if necessary. No trains will operate after 7pm on Friday or before 7am on Saturday.
London Northwestern Railway schedule
On Friday and Saturday, there will be no trains between London Euston and Crewe, Bedford Bletchley, St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction, as well as between Stafford and Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent. One train per hour will run between London Euston via Northampton and Birmingham New Street, Northampton and Euston, and Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street.
West Midlands Railway services
Services on the West Midlands network will be limited. One train per hour will operate between Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Walsall, and Rugeley Trent Valley via Birmingham International Airport. Two trains per hour will run between Birmingham, Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch-Bromsgrove. No trains will run on any other West Midlands routes, including the Shrewsbury and Hereford lines, and between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.
Why is the strike happening?
The dispute between the TSSA union and West Midlands Trains, the parent company of London Northwestern Railway, centers on rest day working payments. The union claims its members are not being treated equally compared to other unions regarding rest day pay. After failed negotiations, TSSA members working as crew managers, control staff, and roster clerks voted to strike.
Maryam Eslamdoust, TSSA’s general secretary, stated: ‘As things stand these strikes will go ahead as planned because the company is simply refusing to give our members parity with those in other unions. That is an intolerable situation, especially given the fact these are modest demands.’ She emphasized that the company has the power to stop the walkouts and that the union remains open to further talks.
Ian McConnell, managing director of London Northwestern Railway, said: ‘We encourage TSSA to continue talks with us to reach a resolution to this dispute. This strike action will cause disruption to our customers with a significantly reduced timetable in operation on both dates. We are doing all we can to minimize the impact as far as possible and apologize to customers for the inconvenience. However, where services are running, we advise customers to only travel if necessary and to allow more time for their journey.’
