Which train lines are affected by the strikes today?

Aslef members on the picket line earlier this year – but how will today’s strike affect you? (Picture: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Travelling today? Brace yourself, as more train strikes are upon us.

Industrial action is coming from two unions: Aslef (on Friday, May 12, later May 31 and June 3), and RMT (on Saturday, May 13) – amid long-running disputes over pay and issues such as jobs and modernisation.

Aslef represents around 96% of UK train drivers, so lots of services will be cancelled on its strike days.

RMT, meanwhile, represents a range of railway workers – and in addition to the upcoming strike day, recently re-balloted members for further action as they continue to seek ‘a fair deal’.

So, which train lines are due to be affected, and will your train be cancelled?

Here’s all you need to know.

Which train lines are affected by the strikes today?

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast has advised customers not to travel on Aslef strike days, as trains won’t be running.

It says: ‘Please do not attempt to travel on Avanti West Coast on May 12 and 31, and June 3 as we will not be running any services on our routes.’

For RMT’s strike day on May 13, it advises: ‘Please check your journey before arriving at our stations.

‘Our timetable will change significantly and fewer trains will run on strike dates, so your entire journey may be severely disrupted.’

It adds that first trains of the day will start from 7am, and last trains will finish at 7pm. The only exception may be trains heading to the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.

Avanti West Coast is one of several train companies affected (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

C2C

C2C says its trains won’t be hugely affected by the strike action on all four upcoming days.

However, you can expect trains to be busier than normal, and on May 13, there will be a change to some trains – they will run to and from Fenchurch Street but not stop at Liverpool Street or Stratford.

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways trains will not run at all today (May 12) and subsequent Aslef strike days on May 31 and June 3.

You should expect a very limited service tomorrow (May 13), with one train per hour from Marylebone to Banbury, Marylebone to Oxford and Marylebone to Aylesbury (via Amersham) and vice versa.

These trains will run roughly between 9am until 9pm.

Many stops, including Wembley Stadium, Northolt Park and South Ruislip will be closed all day, with some stops to Aylesbury also closed tomorrow.

Note there will be very limited trains due to the aftermath of the strikes and Aslef overtime bans on May 15 to May 20, with planned engineering works on May 21.

You can see which services are affected on each day by visiting the Chiltern Railways website.

There are no CrossCountry trains today (May 12) (Picture: Nigel Kirby/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

CrossCountry

CrossCountry will not be running any trains today (May 12) and will run a limited service tomorrow (May 13). It advises customers hoping to travel to check the journey planner on its website.

The train operator says it is reviewing plans for future Aslef strike dates.

East Midlands Railway (EMR)

Don’t travel today (May 12), May 31 or June 3, says EMR, as no trains are in service on these dates.

As for tomorrow’s RMT strike, the operator says: ‘On Saturday, May 13 we will be operating a significantly reduced service. 

‘Only travel by rail if absolutely necessary and if you do travel, expect severe disruption. We also advise you to check the days in between strike action as trains are subject to short notice alterations and cancellations.’

On this date, there will be one train per hour on a handful of services, running between 7am and 7pm, with many last departures happening around 3pm or 4pm.

EMR also specifically advises football fans NOT to travel to key football matches by train – Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea and Notts County vs Chesterfield – as ‘you won’t be able to travel back on the same day’.

You can check exact journey times on the East Midlands Railway website.

Gatwick Express

Off to the airport? Well, Gatwick Express isn’t running today (May 12), nor is set to run on future Aslef strike dates on May 31 or June 3.

Tomorrow, the Gatwick Express will be running but limited. Its website states: ‘The railway will operate limited opening hours with services starting later and finishing much earlier than normal.

‘Some routes will finish earlier than others, and some stations will not be served at all. Please check your first and last trains carefully, as there will be no alternative travel outside of these services.’

You should also expect limited services that may be busier than usual between May 15 to May 20 due to Aslef overtime bans.

Great Northern

Great Northern is also warning customers that there will be no trains today, on May 31 or June 3 – with limited trains tomorrow, and lines affected by overtime bans on May 15 to May 20.

Tomorrow (May 13), you can expect two trains per hour between London St Pancras and Bedford, as well as Luton.

There will also trains from King’s Cross to Peterbrough, Ely, Cambridge, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City at a rate of one or two per hour, depending on the route.

Find out more on Great Northern’s website.

There be very limited trains running with GWR today (May 12) (Picture: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Great Western Railway (GWR)

Great Western Railway is set to have very few trains running today (May 12).

Expect extremely limited services on the following routes:

London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads

Reading to Didcot (for connecting bus replacement services towards Oxford)

Reading to Basingstoke

Reading to Redhill

Westbury to Swindon in peak times only

Cardiff to Bristol

Plymouth to Gunnislake.

They’ll likely be much busier than usual. Similarly, tomorrow (May 13) will also see a limited number of routes in operation, which you can view on the GWR website.

Expect further disruption from May 15 to May 20 due to action short of a strike, the company says. You can likely expect a similar situation on future Aslef strike dates May 31 and June 3.

Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia warns passengers that there will be reduced frequency today (May 12).

‘We will be operating a reduced service on a limited number of routes. Most routes (including all regional lines) will have no service at all,’ it explains.

‘Where services do run they will start later and finish earlier than normal, with start/finish times varying across the network.’

Tomorrow (May 13), trains will start from 7am ‘with all last trains reaching their destination by 11pm’. How frequent trains are will depend on the route. Some will have reduced service, while others will be closer to normal.

There are a number of trains cancelled from May 15 to May 19, which can be viewed online on the website. Aslef strike dates will also affect services on May 31 and June 3.

There’s no Heathrow Express today, either (Picture: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Heathrow Express

In another blow for London-based holidaymakers, there will be no Heathrow Express today (May 12) at all. It’s the same story on May 31 or June 3.

Tomorrow (May 13), there will be no Heathrow Express trains after 9pm.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

LNER will run a reduced timetable on all four strike days, including today (May 12) and tomorrow (May 13).

This includes the London King’s Cross to Edinburgh route, with first departures much later than usual and last departures much earlier than usual. For example: today, the last train to depart King’s Cross for Edinburgh will leave the station at 3pm.

LNER adds: ‘We will be running a reduced service on all dates.

‘Customers already booked to travel on these dates will be contacted at least five days in advance with their travel options.’

London Northwestern Railway

London Northwestern Railway will not operate trains today (May 12), May 31 or June 3.

There’ll be a limited service tomorrow (May 13), operating between 7am and 7pm.

Expect two trains per hour on routes to London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street from Birmingham New Street – and just one per hour on local routes to Birmingham International, Wolverhampton and Rugeley Trent Valley via Walsall.

For further details, best to check the website for timetable information.

Services with LNER will be reduced on all four upcoming strike days, so prepare for busy trains (Picture: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Northern Rail

Northern Rail is also not running any trains today (May 12) and on Aslef strike dates May 31 and June 3.

A very limited service will run tomorrow (May 13) for RMT’s strike day, with some routes and stops not being served at all.

On the ones that do, trains will only run from 8am to 5pm and passengers are advised to avoid the last train of the day if possible. No doubt it will be rather busy.

There is more disruption to follow on May 15 to May 20 and again on June 1, adds Northern.

South Western Railway

South Western Railway says there will be no Island Line today (May 12), as the Aslef strike affects its network-wide depot line and the Island Line train drivers.

It adds: ‘While this industrial action does not impact the majority of our drivers on Aslef strike days, there are some impacts on the West of England and suburban routes, because of local industrial action.

‘As a result, we expect to run a reduced service between Exeter and Waterloo, in the Romsey area and on our suburban network in order to provide customers greater certainty on which services will run.’

South Western advises passengers that they should expect short notice delays and cancellations today, and if you are travelling to check its journey planner for timetable information.

Tomorrow (May 13), expect a large part of its network to be closed, with limited trains per hour (either one or two) running from 7am to 7pm on these routes:

London Waterloo to Windsor via Hounslow

London Waterloo to Windsor via Richmond

London Waterloo to Woking

London Waterloo to Basingstoke

Basingstoke to Salisbury

A reduced service on the Island Line.

Southeastern

Southeastern has no trains running today (May 12), and none on May 31 or June 3 due to Aslef strike action.

Tomorrow (May 13), an extremely limited service will be running, with only 58 of 180 stations open at all.

Trains will likely start later and finish earlier, and any early morning services that are running will be busy, so be aware that you may be unable to board your desired service.

The operator adds that it expects to have a full service operating from May 15 to May 20 and June 1 – when there are Aslef overtime bans in place – but advises passengers to check their journey ahead of time.

Southern

Southern will not operate any trains today (May 12), nor will it on strike days May 31 or June 3.

Expect a limited service on Southern tomorrow (May 13), as it says: ‘The railway will operate limited opening hours with services starting later and finishing much earlier than normal. 

‘Some routes will finish earlier than others, and some stations will not be served at all.’

Passengers can also expect fewer services from May 15 to May 20.

There were train strikes earlier in 2023 and last year in 2022, with a new crop starting today (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Thameslink

Part of the same company as Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, there’ll also be no Thameslink service today (May 12).

And tomorrow (May 13), there will be limited service, and fewer trains from May 15 to May 20.

TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express is fully shut down today (May 12), so there are no trains at all.

There’s an extremely limited service tomorrow (May 13), and passengers are advised to only travel if essential and to check the operator’s journey planner for timetable information.

Note there are some very limited trains running to Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Liverpool Lime Street to Huddersfield (via Manchester Piccadilly) will have 12 trans, while Preston and Sheffield (via Manchester Piccadilly) will have five and four respectively. This is in both directions, TransPennine says on its website.

There is not yet information for Aslef strike days May 31 and June 3.

Expect no TransPennine trains today, along with limited trains to Liverpool tomorrow (May 13) for Eurovision (Picture: Getty Images)

West Midlands Railway

West Midlands Railway trains won’t run today (May 12), nor on May 31 or June 3.

Anyone hoping to travel tomorrow (May 13) should be prepared for a limited service, operating between 7am and 7pm only – with some routes not being served at all.

People hoping to reach the Aston Villa vs Tottenham match by train, are advised to think again.

West Midlands warns: ‘Due to the impact of industrial action and associated safety concerns, services will not call at Aston / Witton for two hours before and after the Aston Villa vs Tottenham match on Saturday, May 13.’

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Cancellations are rife as train drivers hit picket lines.