Planned industrial action by the RMT union means rail services to be severely affected from 21 to 25 June, and a significantly reduced temporary timetable will be in place.
Members of the RMT are taking the action in a row over pay and job losses. They want no compulsory redundancies and they want to make sure any changes to work practices are negotiated rather than imposed. The union's general secretary Mick Lynch has called for a face-to-face meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak claiming the Treasury is "calling the shots" and not allowing rail employers to reach a negotiated settlement with the union.
Steve Montgomery, Chair of the Rail Delivery Group, is urging the unions to call off the strikes. He says “Taxpayers have provided the equivalent of about £600 per household since Covid and passenger numbers are still only at around 75% of pre pandemic levels. We need to bring rail up to date so that we attract more people back and take no more than our fair share from the public purse.
Trains will only run on the main line between Paddington and Plymouth. All branch lines in Devon (serving Barnstaple, Exmouth, Paignton, Okehampton) will be closed
GWR says passengers should only travel by rail if necessary. "If you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead. Services will start later and finish earlier throughout the strike period".
On strike days, an extremely limited service will operate between 07:30 and 18:30. On non-strike days, no services will run before 07:00. Trains are expected to be busy and no replacement buses will be available.
GWR also says that due to the timing of the strike action, services in between strike days will also be affected.
MD Mark Hopwood says "this is going to be a very difficult week for our customers, we will do all we can to help, but the impact will be significant".
South Western Railway says the London Waterloo to Exeter line will be closed - no trains will run. SWR says it'll run a late-starting Sunday level of service across the network on 22, 24 and 26 June.
Cross Country expect to run a very limited service between Bristol Parkway and Plymouth. No trains will run between Bristol and Birmingham.
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