Commuters are facing rush-hour travel hell today as rail services on some of the busiest commuter routes in the country will be hit by fresh strikes in long-running pay dispute.

Members of Aslef at operators including those running services into London such as Southern, Southeastern and South Western Railway will walk out for the day.

Strikes will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at different operators, while drivers are also banning overtime until Saturday. 

Passengers have been urged to check before attempting to travel by train this week. The dispute is now the longest ever in the rail industry.

There is a glimmer of hope that negotiations will start in a bid to resolve the row after the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) invited Aslef to talks about exploring any common ground which could break the deadlock.

Commuters wait underneath an empty departure board at Victoria Station in London on the first day in a series of strike actions

A section of Victoria Station in London closed to three public on the first day in a series of strike actions

No formal talks between the operators and the union have been held for a year and for longer involving a transport minister.

Business groups have warned of the impact on the economy of the strikes, especially for hospitality firms.

Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, said: 'Yet another round of industrial action across the rail network will cause disruption for businesses and commuters up and down the country.

'Amid weak economic growth, and as we head into a summer trading period which is crucial for retail, leisure and hospitality firms, we urge all parties to work together to resolve these long-running talks and keep the city moving. The impact of these walkouts will be felt even more acutely by many owing to a shorter working week.'

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, added: 'The Aslef strikes that will take effect nationwide from Monday to Thursday mean yet more disruption for consumers and businesses. Last year's trains strikes cost the beer and pub sector an estimated £143million in lost trade.

'Now, at a time when pubs are trying to manage the competing costs of doing business, these almost week long strikes will have a significant negative impact on pubs and surrounding businesses, placing a continued strain on the sector.'

Train drivers will strike on the following days:

• Tuesday May 7: c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR's Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern (including Gatwick Express), Southeastern, and South Western Railway.
• Wednesday May 8: Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, GWR, and West Midlands Trains.
• Thursday May 9: LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express.

Empty platforms at Paddington Station in London on the first day in a series of strike actions

A section of Victoria Station in London closed to the public

Aslef said its members have not had a pay rise for five years and has accused the Government of 'giving up' trying to resolve the dispute.

READ MORE: How will train strikes affect YOU? Britain faces another week of rail chaos with 16 operators cancelling services from tomorrow as Aslef union stages more walkouts in row over pay

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A spokesman for the RDG said: 'The rail industry is working hard to keep trains running but it is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between May 7 and May 9 because many trains will not be in the right depots to start services the following day.

'We can only apologise to our customers for this wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership which will sadly disrupt journeys once again.

'It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £54 million a week in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn.'

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'The Transport Secretary and rail minister have already facilitated a pay offer that would take train drivers' average salaries up to £65,000 - almost twice the UK average salary.

'Aslef are the only union left striking after the Government oversaw deals with all the other unions.

'Instead of causing passengers disruption, they should put this offer to their members and work with industry to end this dispute.'

Meanwhile, engineers on the Croydon Tramlink went on strike on Sunday until 6am on Thursday in a separate pay dispute.

 

Tuesday 

c2c

No trains on the entire c2c route on Tuesday. 

Reduced service from Wednesday until Saturday. 

Greater Anglia

Most routes will have no service on Tuesday, but there will be a reduced service on a small number of key routes into London for fewer hours of the day:

• Norwich/Colchester and London Liverpool Street
• Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street
• Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street
• Cambridge and London Liverpool Street

First trains of the day on most routes on Wednesday will start around 7am. The Stansted Express will be operating a reduced service of two or three trains per hour.

Govia Thameslink Railway: Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express

Very limited Thameslink shuttle service on Tuesday from 7am until 7pm as follows:

• St Pancras, Luton Airport Parkway and Luton only
• London Kings Cross and Cambridge only

There will also be a very limited Southern shuttle service calling at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria only, between 5am and 11pm on Tuesday.

Services will start later than normal on Wednesday. An amended timetable between Wednesday and Friday with fewer services operating.

Southeastern

Very limited service on Tuesday, with most routes and stations closed. Only 29 out of 165 Southeastern stations will be open, and no replacement buses will run. 

But there is expected to be a full service from Wednesday to Saturday inclusive. 

South Western Railway

Extremely limited service on Tuesday on a limited number of lines. Trains will only run from 7am until 7pm and only between:

• Basingstoke and Salisbury
• London Waterloo and Basingstoke
• London Waterloo and Feltham via Twickenham
• London Waterloo and Guildford via Woking
• London Waterloo and Woking

There will be no service on the Island Line on Tuesday. From Wednesday until Friday, a revised service will run across SWR - with short-notice cancellations possible.

 

Wednesday

Avanti West Coast

No service on Wednesday.

Reduced service on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mostly on the Manchester and Birmingham routes due to the overtime ban and Wednesday's strike.

Chiltern Railways

No service on Wednesday.

READ MORE Train strikes 2024: Full list of May dates

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Limited service on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday as follows:

• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Birmingham Moor Street (and vice-versa)
• 2 trains per hour Marylebone - stations to Oxford (and vice-versa)
• 1 train per hour Princes Risborough - stations to Aylesbury (and vice-versa)
• Shuttle service Leamington Spa - stations to Stratford Upon Avon (and vice-versa) for most of the day
• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Aylesbury Vale Parkway (via Amersham) and vice-versa

No service on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday as follows:

• Stourbridge Junction - stations to Birmingham Moor Street
• Northolt Park, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow and South Ruislip

CrossCountry

No service on Wednesday.

Possible short-notice cancellations from Monday until Saturday.

East Midlands Railway

No service on Wednesday.

From Monday until Saturday, normal timetable is planned but short-notice cancellations are possible.

Great Western Railway

Extremely limited service on Wednesday between 7am and 7pm on these routes only:

• Reading and Oxford
• Reading and Basingstoke
• Reading and Redhill (peak time only)
• Reading and Newbury
• Westbury and Swindon (peak time only)
• Cardiff and Bristol
• Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple
• Exeter St Davids and Exmouth (calling at Exeter Central, Digby and Topsham only)
• Penzance/St Erth and St Ives (9.30am to 12.30pm, and 3.30pm to 7pm)
• Plymouth and Gunnislake

From Monday until Saturday, normal level of service is due to operate throughout the day, but there may be some short-notice changes to services late at night.

Night Riviera Sleeper service is cancelled from Monday until Friday inclusive. 

London Northwestern Railway

No service on Wednesday.

Planned reduced service between Monday and Saturday.

West Midlands Trains

No service on Wednesday.

Between Monday and Saturday, planned reduction of services.

 

Thursday

London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

On Thursday, reduced timetable between London and Edinburgh, London, and Leeds. No LNER services at Lincoln, Skipton, Bradford, Harrogate, Hull, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness. LNER will not be stopping at Northallerton, Morpeth, Alnmouth, Reston or Dunbar.

On Wednesday, possible changes to services. No LNER service to or from Inverness and rail replacement coaches will be in operation.

On Friday, there will also be possible changes to services. 

Northern

No Northern services on Thursday.

Between Monday and Saturday, most services will be running as planned but customers are advised to check before travelling because 'short notice cancellations are likely'.

TransPennine Express

No service on Thursday.

Services may also be altered or cancelled on the night before or morning after Thursday. Short-notice cancellations are possible between Monday and Saturday.