Industrial Action
The latest travel information about upcoming and past rail strikes and overtime bans.
Last updated on 5 September 2024.
Upcoming industrial action
There is currently no announced upcoming industrial action.
Background
The industrial action is being caused by ongoing disputes between the two main rail trade unions, the RMT union of transport workers and the ASLEF union of train drivers, and the train companies, Network Rail, and the government. The disputes are over wages, planned changes to working practices, and the threat of redundancies.
So far, the industrial action has consisted of both strikes and overtime bans. Overtime bans are often referred to as “action short of a strike” because they still cause significant disruption without technically striking; they’re effective because many train operators rely on staff doing voluntary overtime to run a full service.
Past 2024 industrial action
All the days industrial action has taken place so far this year.
Thursday 9 May
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express.
Wednesday 8 May
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, GWR, Heathrow Express, London Northwestern Railway, and West Midlands Railway.
Tuesday 7 May
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Stansted Express, Island Line, and Thameslink.
Monday 6 May - Saturday 11 May
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 8 April - Tuesday 9 April
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 8 April
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: c2c, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, Island Line, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, and Thameslink.
Saturday 6 April
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Chiltern Railways, GWR, Heathrow Express, LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express.
Friday 5th April
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, and West Midlands Railway.
Thursday 4 April - Saturday 6 April
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 5 February
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, and GWR.
Saturday 3 February
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 2 February
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: c2c, Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, and LNER.
Wednesday 31 January
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Northern and TransPennine Express.
Tuesday 30 January
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Island Line, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, and Thameslink.
Monday 29 January - Tuesday 6 February
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
2023 industrial action
All the days industrial action took place last year.
Friday 8 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Northern and TransPennine Express.
Thursday 7 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: CrossCountry, GWR, and Heathrow Express.
Wednesday 6 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Gatwick Express, Island Line, South Western Railway, Southeastern, and Southern.
Tuesday 5 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: c2c, Greater Anglia, and Stansted Express.
Sunday 3 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, Great Northern, London Northwestern Railway, Thameslink, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 2 December
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: East Midlands Railway and LNER.
Friday 1 December - Saturday 9 December
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Wednesday 4 October
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 2 October - Friday 6 October
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 30 September
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 29 September
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 2 September
RMT union strike and
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, London Northwestern Railway, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales (not on strike, but service changes on some routes), and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 1 September
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, London Northwestern Railway, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales (not on strike, but service changes on some routes), and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 26 August
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, Transpennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 7 August - Saturday 12 August
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, London Northwestern Railway, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales (not on strike, but service changes on some routes), and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 31 July - Saturday 5 August
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, London Northwestern Railway, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales (not on strike, but service changes on some routes), and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 29 July
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 22 July
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Thursday 20 July
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 17 July - Saturday 22 July
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Thameslink, Island Line, London North East Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.
Saturday 3 June
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 2 June
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Thursday 1 June
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Island Line, London North Eastern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.
Wednesday 31 May
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Monday 15 May - Saturday 20 May
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Island Line, London North Eastern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.
Saturday 13 May
RMT union strike and
ASLEF union overtime ban.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 12 May
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Saturday 1 April
A planned RMT union strike was suspended.
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Train companies that would have been affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Thursday 30 March
A planned RMT union strike was suspended.
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Train companies that would have been affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 3 February
ASLEF union and
RMT union strikes.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Wednesday 1 February
ASLEF union and
RMT union strikes.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Friday 6 January - Saturday 7 January
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, Transpennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Thursday 5 January
ASLEF union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
Tuesday 3 January - Wednesday 4 January
RMT union strike.
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Train companies affected: Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, Transpennine Express, and West Midlands Railway.
