Strike news - live: Boxing Day shoppers brace for travel chaos as all trains axed
The AA expects 15.2 million cars on UK roads as second day of rail strikes begin
Fransebas
When are strikes happening in January?
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
Shoppers are bracing for travel chaos on Boxing Day as rail strikes force more cars on roads in one of the year’s busiest shopping days.
The AA expects 15.2 million cars on UK roads on 26 December as Britain’s railways are set to remain closed for a second consecutive day amid the latest in a series of walkouts by rail workers.
Hundreds of departures usually run on 26 December at a reduced rate after the Christmas Day shutdown. But Network Rail said Britain’s railways will remain closed due to a walkout by employees who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
Airport transfers such as the Heathrow Express and Stansted Express are usually among the most popular services on Boxing Day.
Airline passengers will be forced to find other ways of getting to and from Britain’s airports.
Long queues form for Boxing Day sales
Shoppers lined up outside stores to make the most of Boxing Day sales today.
(PA)
(PA)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 12:37
Boxing day travel chaos: How Border Force and rail strikes could affect festive travel plans
In case you missed it...
Passengers arriving at some of the UK’s major airports over the festive season could face long queues as UK Border Force staff go on strike – with a threat of Christmas flight cancellations.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced industrial action from 23 December until the end of the year, with the exception of 27 December.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 11:55
The NHS saved my life – and I have a message for Steve Barclay
“Without doctors and nurses I would be dead. Several times over, in fact,” James Moore writes.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 11:17
Total shutdown of railway but coaches and ferries running on time
As the latest rail strike continues into its third day, Britain’s railways are at a standstill – with a warning to passengers to avoid all but essential travel until 9 January.
But many people are on the move within the UK, with flights, ferries and long-distance coaches already busy.
The UK’s biggest bus hub, Victoria Coach Station in central London, is extremely busy, with departures every few minutes to national and international destinations on National Express, Megabus and FlixBus.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 10:35
Rail dispute unlikely to end without mandate for industry to negotiate – RMT
The rail dispute will continue into the new year unless the Government gives the industry a mandate to negotiate a settlement to the long running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, a union has warned.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) accused ministers of “abdicating their responsibility” to sort out the industrial unrest.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has claimed the Government is blocking rail employers from making a deal.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 10:07
Christmas rail travel: Which trains are running from December until the second week of January?
With many hundreds of trains being cancelled even on a day with no strikes, rail passengers in Britain face the most relentless disruption to journeys in a lifetime.
Between Thursday 22 December and Sunday 8 January, The Independent calculates that up to a quarter of a million trains will not run as they would in normal times – as festive engineering work and staff shortage exacerbate the worst strike action since the 1980s.
The leading cause of disruption is the sustained series of strikes by members of the RMT union. In the past six months workers for Network Rail – the infrastructure provider – and around a dozen train operators have walked out on 12 days.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 09:33
Boxing day travel chaos: How Border Force and rail strikes could affect festive travel plans
Passengers arriving at some of the UK’s major airports over the festive season could face long queues as UK Border Force staff go on strike – with a threat of Christmas flight cancellations.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced industrial action from 23 December until the end of the year, with the exception of 27 December.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 08:59
Boxing Day bargain-hunters warned of traffic jams amid rail strike
Shoppers hoping for a Boxing Day bargain could face traffic jams as rail strikes see train services brought to a halt.
Thousands of people planning to travel by train have been forced to make alternative plans amid continued industrial action.
Hundreds of departures usually run on December 26 after the Christmas Day shutdown.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 08:34
Network Rail tells travellers to avoid trains until January 9
In a tweet on Saturday afternoon, the organisation that runs the nation’s rail infrastructure advised passengers to “only travel by train if absolutely necessary” between 24 December to 8 January.
Strikes by the RMT and Aslef unions will affect 11 of the 16 days over Christmas and New Year, with overtime bans and planned engineering work hitting services on the remaining days.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain26 December 2022 08:05
What are my travel options during Border Force strikes at UK airports?
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union who normally check passports will strike from 23 December until the end of the year, with the exception of 27 December.
UK Border Force staff will also strike at the port of Newhaven in East Sussex on the same dates.Almost two million passengers are booked to fly into the affected airports during the stoppages.
Could their festive flights be disrupted – and what are the airports and airlines saying?
Simon Calder reports:
Sravasti Dasgupta26 December 2022 07:30
