Bristol train strike: new rail service timetables for CrossCountry, GWR and SWR as rail worker action to begin

The week when 80% of the UK’s railway services will grind to a halt due to strike action has finally arrived.

This comes after over 40,000 members of the RMT union agreed to stand up for issues such as pay, health and safety procedures, as well as job security.

A number of routes in and around the Bristol area are set to be affected and will bring disruption to the lives of thousands.

In response to the three dates of announced strike action, railway companies are starting to release official reduced timetables.

Here is everything you need to know.

When are the RMT strikes?

By law, trade unions must give an employer a minimum of 14-days notice of any industrial action.

After meeting with trade unionists to discuss official dates, three days in June will see railway strike action.

The Railway Network strike will fall on 21, 23 and 25 June, bringing a halt to railway services for a week - covering what are statistically the busiest days post-pandemic.

A number of events and festivals are taking place during the week commencing Monday, 20 June - such as Elton John’s huge double header at Bristol’s Ashton Gate Stadium, as well as the nearby Glastonbury Festival.

What railway operating companies are affected in Bristol?

Out of the 15 different railway operating companies that have railway workers participating in the three days of RMT strike action, three of them operate popular routes to and from the Bristol and South West of England region.

The affected railway operators include:

• CrossCountry
• Great Western Railway (GWR)
• South Western Railway (SWR)

What are the strike timetables for routes in and around Bristol?

The affected railway operating companies that operate to and from Bristol have released details surrounding their dramatically reduced service timetable.

CrossCountry

CrossCountry have officially released their RMT strike timetables for the week commencing Monday, 20 June 2022.

No services will run across the three days from Birmingham New Street to Bristol Temple Meads railway station, as well as to Cardiff Central, Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

The train line that connects Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Leicester, Leeds, York and Reading will have one train running every hour.

A ‘very limited service’ will run between Bristol Parkway and popular routes to Plymouth, Birmingham New Street, Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.

There will be no road transport running in replacement of any train services during the RMT strikes in June.

Advance Tickets - which are CrossCountry’s best value tickets which are released and can be purchased in advance - will be suspended during 21, 23 and 25 June.

Updated timetables for Saturday, 25 June and Sunday, 26 June will be confirmed on Wednesday, 22 June.

For further information on the badly affected routes to and from the Bristol region through CrossCountry, please visit the official website.

Great Western Railway (GWR)

The railway operating company has confirmed a number of details ahead of the three days of Network Rail strike action that is set to get underway this week.

Officials have confirmed that the routes that they are running services to and from will be very limited with only 30% operating on strike days, and will only operate from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Services that connect the South Wales mainline, such as from Cardiff Central all the way to London Paddington will see very limited services.

A number will not be running across each of the three days of RMT strike action, such as all those in Cornwall, Devon, Heart of Wessex line, Severn Beach line, North Cotswold line and South Cotswold line.

Saturday, 27 June will see all Greenford branch services stopped entirely, with ‘severely limited services’ on all other lines.

On days when strike action is not taking place, GWR will follow the following reduced service:

A GWR spokesperson stated: “Customers who have already purchased tickets can claim a full refund or can amend their ticket; those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to delay repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 mins or more.”

“Season ticket holders can apply for compensation through the Delay Repay scheme.

“To help customers, GWR is allowing people with tickets for travel on strike days to be able to travel either on the day before or any day up to and including Tuesday 28 June.

“Our refund policy and Book with Confidence policy will remain in place.”

For further information on the badly affected routes to and from the Bristol region through Great Western Railway, please visit the official website.

South Western Railway (SWR)

With over 2,100 South Western Railway (SWR) RMT members along with Network Rail signallers taking action, SWR are operating a dramatically reduced timetable this week.

Significant parts of the network are closed.

The line connecting London Waterloo to Woking will see four trains per hour, with London Waterloo to Basingstoke having only two per hour.

SWR are offering a severely limited service across all three days, with some routes running between 7:15 am to 6:30 pm.

A spokesperson said: “The sheer scale of this planned industrial action severely limits the number of trains we can run and routes we can serve, which is reflected in the reduced timetable we have published today. “

“With this disruption set to be so considerable, I regretfully urge customers to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary between Tuesday 21 and Sunday 26 June.

“I am sorry these strikes will cause such disruption and am grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding as the rail industry works to bring this damaging nationwide action to an end.”

For further information on the badly affected routes to and from the Bristol region through South Western Railway, please visit the official website.