Rail strike: Reduced train service across Wolverhampton and Birmingham announced
Rail services in the West Midlands will be severely reduced next week when workers strike on three days.
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) staff will strike on Tuesday June 21, Thursday June 23 and Saturday June 25 in a row over job cuts and pay freezes.
Workers at Network Rail and 13 train operators, including West Midlands Railway (WMR), are set to walk out in the dispute.
WMR has announced it will be running a limited number of services on the days workers strike, with passengers being urged only to travel if essential.
There will be one train per hour running between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, and one train between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International, while two trains per hour will run on the Cross City Line, including routes between New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley, Redditch and Bromsgrove.
Meanwhile all other WMR services will be withdrawn completely, including all routes via Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham-Shrewsbury, Birmingham-Worcester-Hereford and Nuneaton-Leamington Spa.
The significantly reduced service will also operate on Wednesday June 22 and Friday June 24 – days where there is no strike action – due to the disruption caused by the walkout. On these days services will commence at 7.30am, with last trains earlier than usual.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: "It is very disappointing that this planned strike action by the RMT is set to cause significant disruption to our passengers.
"We will be operating a very limited service all through the week and we are asking customers to only travel with us if their journey is essential and no other transport option is available to them. Passengers holding tickets or season tickets will be entitled to refunds and should visit our website for information."
Other lines will only be open between 7.30am and 6.30pm, meaning services will start later and finish earlier than usual. The last train from London to Birmingham is due to leave Euston at 3.43pm during the strike action.
Steve Montgomery, who chairs industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “These strikes will affect the millions of people who use the train each day, including key workers, students with exams, those who cannot work from home, holidaymakers and those attending important business and leisure events.
“Working with Network Rail, our plan is to keep as many services running as possible, but significant disruption will be inevitable and some parts of the network will not have a service, so passengers should plan their journeys carefully and check their train times.”
Only around 12,000-14,000 services will be able to run on the days following the strikes.
This is because signallers and control staff will not work overnight shifts that begin on the strike dates.
That means trains will not be able to leave depots for up to four hours later than normal.
