Rail strikes: which trains will run on Saturday 5 November?

Exclusive: More trains are running over national strike dates than previously, though engineering work is reducing some intercity services

Nov 2, 2022 - 21:02

0 7

Rail strikes: which trains will run on Saturday 5 November?

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Cancellations ahead of the next round of national rail strikes will begin on Friday afternoon, with disruption continuing until Thursday 10 November.

Members of the RMT union working for Network Rail will strike on Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November. In addition, staff working for 14 train operators – including the main intercity rail firms – will walk out on 5 and 9 November.

The first cancellation as a result of the national strikes is the 5.30pm Grand Central from Sunderland to London.

The stoppages are part of a series of long and bitter disputes over pay, job security and modernisation.

The walk-out by 5,000 Network Rail signallers means half the rail network is closed, with a much-reduced service on the remainder. Non-union members will enable a service to run between 7.30am and 6.30pm across about half the network.

Around 20 per cent of trains are expected to run, mainly on key intercity lines plus suburban lines around London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and southern Scotland.

Many operators will still run a service, but it will be much reduced – and will operate only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Engineering work is reducing some intercity services on the East Coast and West Coast main lines.

Passengers are being urged “to only travel if necessary” on the strike days, and are warned of disruption on the following days – Sunday 6 November, Tuesday 8 November, and Thursday 10 November – as workers return to duties.

But thousands of trains will run, with Advance tickets on sale for strike days at low fares. Between York and Edinburgh, for example, a large number of seats are available for under £25 one way.

The Independent is building up a picture of which trains will run – listed clockwise from the East Coast main line.

LNER

Doncaster to Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Advance tickets are on sale.

On the Monday and Wednesday strike days, trains will also run south of Doncaster to London King’s Cross.

Lumo

No trains are currently bookable on the London-Newcastle-Edinburgh route, but the rail firm says: “We will seek to operate as many of our services as possible.

“We are suspending sales of Advance tickets for the affected services in order to minimise the number of people disrupted.”

Grand Central

All trains cancelled, as well as the 5.30pm from Sunderland to London King’s Cross on Friday 4 November.

Great Northern

London King’s Cross to Cambridge will run.

Greater Anglia

There are services from London Liverpool Street to Norwich via Colchester and Ipswich; Cambridge and Stansted airport; and Southend.

Southeastern

High-speed services from St Pancras to Ashford, as well as shorter, slower journeys from London Bridge to Sevenoaks and to Dartford on routes via Greenwich, Blackheath and Bexley.

Southern

Victoria to Gatwick airport and Brighton.

South Western Railway

London Waterloo to Woking, Winchester and Southampton.

Great Western Railway

Usual hourly “strike shuttle” between London Paddington, Reading, Swindon, Bath and Bristol, with services also from London to Newport and Cardiff and a link between Bath and Westbury.

Friday’s overnight sleeper between London and Cornwall has been cancelled.

Transport for Wales

Cardiff to the Valleys.

Chiltern

London Marylebone to Birmingham via High Wycombe; Amersham to Aylesbury.

Avanti West Coast

Likely to run from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London Euston, with links also from Manchester (via Crewe) and Coventry to the capital.

ScotRail

More trains will run on more lines than on previous national strike days, but the services is still very reduced – with no trains running north of Cowdenbeath in Fife.

On lines that are running, there will mainly be two trains per hour.

From Edinburgh you can travel to Glasgow via Falkirk High; to Helensburgh via Glasgow; to Tweedbank; to Larbert; and to Cowdenbeath.

From Glasgow there are links to Hamilton, Larkhall, Lanark, Larbert. There is also a link from Milngavie to Springburn

Caledonian Sleeper

Friday night Highland services (to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William), will run from London to Edinburgh Waverley arriving around 5am on Saturday. They will be transferred to buses to finish their journeys.