Disruption on rail network for 10 days in December over strike action
December will see 10 consecutive days of disruption across the South London rail network as train workers are set to take industrial action over pay.
Services on Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink will be disrupted between December 1 and December 9 during nationwide action by the train drivers’ union ASLEF.
Rail operators have said customers must check every journey, every day before setting off using as services will run to different timetables each day. Trains may start later and finish earlier and on some days a small number of stations will have no service at all.
Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “We are determined to win this dispute. And get a significant pay rise for train drivers who have not had an increase since 2019 while the cost of living, in that time, has soared.”
On Sunday no Great Northern or Thameslink trains will run due to strike action and on December 6 no Southern trains will run, except for a limited shuttle service for airport customers, calling at London Victoria and Gatwick Airport only, between 7am and 11pm.
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director, said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption customers will experience as we make significant timetable changes during this period of sustained national industrial action.
“I strongly urge customers to check every journey, every day, so they aren’t caught out.”
Sporting events are set to be affected and football fans should check online journey planners before games. They may need to find other ways to reach the games as there will be either no trains at all or none for the return trip.
Rail replacement bus services cannot be provided on strike days due to the scale of the action. This includes those previously put in place for engineering work.
A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “This unnecessary and avoidable industrial action called by the ASLEF leadership has been targeted to disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period, where people will be attending events and catching up with friends and loved ones.
“We urge them to put it to its members, give Christmas back to our customers, and end this damaging industrial dispute.”
(Picture: Govia Thameslink Railway)