Railway strike Bristol: Which lines and stations will be impacted - as GWR issues fresh warning

Great Western Railway has issued a fresh warning ahead of planned strike action this week.

The train operator has announced its planned timetable to operate from tomorrow (June 21) to June 25, as industrial action by the RMT union across the industry and Network Rail is expected to seriously affect services.

GWR is warning people to expect severe disruption and to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary.

On the days of strike action, 21, 23 and 25 June, the operator is aiming to provide about 30% of its usual timetabled services and about 50% on non-strike days.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We very much welcome the opportunity to continue to talk with the RMT to avert strike action.

“Any strike will impact on customers’ journeys and can only damage the post-covid recovery everyone at GWR has been working to win back, while at the same time making it more difficult to deliver the changes we need to secure jobs and services for the future.”

Where trains are able to run, they are expected to be extremely busy and replacement bus services are not being provided.

“I’m hopeful the RMT will step back, however colleagues have been working hard to put contingency plans in place and give certainty to customers who need to travel,” Hopwood said.

“The priority will be to keep trains running and customers moving safely, but changes will be needed to allow that to happen and customers may wish to alter their plans.”

GWR will operate as many trains as possible during the strike action however, most train services will be affected on the days announced. Due to the timing of the strike action, services in between strike days will also be affected.

On strike days, GWR expects to only be able to operate services along the following routes and stations, with red lines showing no services running to Severn Beach and Yate:

On days when strike action is not taking place GWR expects to be able to operate the following reduced, service with no GWR trains running between London Paddington and Reading, as well as limited services near Southampton Airport:

Online journey checkers are expected to be updated with the latest timetable information on the following dates:

Customers who have already purchased tickets can claim a full refund or can amend their ticket, while those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to 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 on the day before and up to two days after.

For more information on refunds and booking policies check updates on the GWR website.