Rail strikes: How are you affected in Cambridgeshire?
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Last updated 12th May 2023
Rail passengers face fresh travel disruption over the next few days because of strikes by train drivers and other workers in long-running disputes over pay.
Greater Anglia and Great Northern are both affected by the action.
Greater Anglia is running one train every two hours between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street from 08.00 until early evening, with the last train from London back to Cambridge at 18.58
Members of the drivers' union Aslef will walk out on Friday at more than a dozen train operators, whilst members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will strike on Saturday - the day of the Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool.
Passengers are being urged to check before they travel on both days.
Further strikes will be held on May 31 and June 3 - the day of the FA Cup final at Wembley.
What does ASLEF say?
"We do not want to go on strike"
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: "We do not want to go on strike - we do not want to inconvenience passengers, we have families and friends who use the railway too, and we believe in investing in rail for the future of this country.
"But the blame for this action lies, fairly and squarely, at the feet of the employers who have forced our hand over this by their intransigence.
"It is now up to them to come up with a more sensible, and realistic, offer and we ask the Government not to hinder this process.
"We have been negotiating with employers - the train operating companies - for many months on pay. On several companies we have managed to come to an agreement, and on several others, multi-year deals have been honoured.
"Unfortunately a number of companies still have their hands tied by the Department for Transport and aren't able to negotiate a reasonable deal with Aslef members.
"We are still prepared to negotiate in good faith but, unfortunately, as we have been unable to come to an agreement, we have had to consider industrial action."
Aslef said a 4% pay offer was "risible and obviously unacceptable".
What does the Rail Delivery Group say?
Steve Montgomery, who chairs the Rail Delivery Group, said: "The upcoming rail strikes called by the Aslef and RMT leadership will not only affect our passengers' daily commute but will also impact those travelling from outside Liverpool and London to come to Eurovision and the FA Cup final, causing disappointment and frustration for those who have planned to attend.
"It will also further burden our people who have already lost thousands of pounds at a time of financial strain.
"We understand the impact of these strikes on individuals and businesses alike, and we can only apologise for this unnecessary and damaging disruption.
"While we are doing all we can to keep trains running, unfortunately there will be reduced train services across the network between Friday May 12 and Saturday June 3, so our advice is to check before you travel. Passengers with Advance tickets can be refunded fee-free if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled."
Revised pay offer
The Rail Delivery Group said that after many weeks of negotiations with the Aslef leadership it had made a "revised and fair offer" including a pay rise of 8% over two years.
"It would have introduced overdue, common-sense improvements already in place in parts of the network, which would will see more trains running on time for passengers.
"Sadly, this has been rejected," said a spokesperson.
Here is a breakdown of each operator's plan for strike days:
- Avanti West Coast
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: Fewer trains than normal will run and only between 7am and 7pm, with the exception of some services to and from Liverpool which is hosting the Eurovision song contest.
- c2c
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: No major impact but all services will run to/from London Fenchurch Street and will not call at London Liverpool Street or Stratford.
- Caledonian Sleeper
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: The Caledonian Sleeper does not operate on Saturday nights.
- Chiltern Railways
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: No trains will run north of Banbury.
Services that do run will be limited to one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Banbury, Oxford and Aylesbury via Amersham, and only between around 9am and 9pm.
- CrossCountry
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: No direct services will run to or from Birmingham New Street and locations such as Aberdeen, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham and Stansted Airport.
Services that do run will only operate between 7am and 7pm.
- East Midlands Railway
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: Services will run between 7am and 7pm.
They will be limited to just one train per hour in each direction between London St Pancras and each of Nottingham, Sheffield and Corby, as well as a handful of regional routes such as between Derby and Matlock.
- Elizabeth line
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: The Elizabeth line is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be some alterations to its services.
These include no trains between Maidenhead and Reading before 7am or after 7pm.
- Gatwick Express
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: No trains but Southern and Thameslink will serve Gatwick Airport.
- Grand Central
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: Grand Central is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be minor alterations to its services.
- Great Northern
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm. There will be no trains between Ely and King's Lynn.
- Great Western Railway
Friday: A limited service will run and only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
The only open routes will be between: London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads; Reading and Didcot; Reading and Basingstoke; Reading and Redhill; Westbury and Swindon; Cardiff and Bristol; and Plymouth and Gunnislake.
The Night Riviera sleeper service has been cancelled.
Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
More routes will be open compared with Friday, including additions such as between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway; London Paddington and Cardiff; Slough and Windsor; and Penzance and Plymouth.
- Greater Anglia
Friday: A reduced service will run and only between London Liverpool Street and each of Cambridge, Norwich, Southend and Stansted Airport.
Saturday: Trains will run between 7am and 11pm.
Some routes will have a reduced frequency, but most will have a normal or near normal service.
- Heathrow Express
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: No trains after 9pm.
- Hull Trains
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: Usual timetable.
- London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
Friday and Saturday: A limited timetable will operate and only between London King's Cross and both Edinburgh and Leeds.
- London Northwestern Railway
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm.
The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of London Euston, Birmingham International and Liverpool Lime Street.
- London Overground
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: London Overground is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but there will be minor alterations to some of its services.
- Lumo
Friday and Saturday: Usual timetable.
- Merseyrail
Friday and Saturday: No impact from the strikes. Additional services will run due to Eurovision.
- Northern
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 8am and 5pm.
Only a handful of routes will be open, such as between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester; Leeds and York; and Darlington and Saltburn.
- ScotRail
Friday and Saturday: Usual timetable.
- South Western Railway
Friday: No trains on the Isle of Wight.
Services will be reduced between London Waterloo and Exeter, in the Romsey area and on the suburban network.
Saturday: A reduced service will operate and only between 7am and 7pm.
The only open routes will be between London Waterloo and each of Windsor via Hounslow; Windsor via Richmond; Woking; and Basingstoke; between Basingstoke and Salisbury; and on the Isle of Wight
- Southeastern
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A reduced service will operate, with only 58 out of 180 stations open.
Trains that do run will be busier than normal, and services are likely to start later and finish earlier than usual.
- Southern
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A reduced service will operate. No trains will run between Hemel Hempstead and Clapham Junction; London Bridge and Norwood Junction; Southampton Central and Barnham; and Eastbourne and Ashford International.
- Stansted Express
Friday: Frequencies will be halved to one train per hour in each direction.
Saturday: Frequencies will be halved to one per hour in each direction, and trains will start later and finish earlier than normal.
- Thameslink
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: Services will be split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Blackfriars.
- TransPennine Express
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A reduced timetable will operate and only between Liverpool Lime Street and each of Huddersfield, Preston and Sheffield, and between Sheffield and Cleethorpes.
- Transport for Wales
Friday: Usual timetable.
Saturday: Transport for Wales is not involved in the industrial dispute with the RMT but some of its services will be disrupted.
Several stations such as Birmingham International, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly will only be open for services between 7am and 7pm.
West Midlands Railway
Friday: No trains.
Saturday: A limited service will run and only between 7am and 7pm.
The only open routes will be between Birmingham New Street and each of Wolverhampton, Rugeley Trent Valley and Lichfield Trent Valley; between Kidderminster and Whitlocks End/Dorridge; and between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town.