Train strikes: How Saturday’s walkout will affect you

2 June 2023

Saturday would be a good day to not venture very far. A strike by Aslef train drivers means that 60% of services on the affected lines are expected to be cancelled. Extra congestion on the roads looks inevitable.

Of course, life is not so simple. There are trips that simply must be made: the hospital visits, the long planned-for treats, the big events.

London looks especially hard to travel in and out of because tens of thousands of people will be making their way to the capital for the FA Cup final at Wembley, a Test match at Lord’s, and a Beyoncé concert at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. The Epsom Derby is also on, and the event attracts a crowd of 100,000.

Good luck with getting to all of those. There is no hope of any last-minute resolution. And even if there was, it would be too late to get services up and running.

Which train operators are affected on Saturday?

The following operators are affected:

Although the train operators are based in England, some of their services run into Wales and Scotland so journeys to those areas will also be disrupted.

What’s the advice for passengers?

There will be wide regional variations in which services are disrupted so passengers are advised to check their journey before travelling.

Operators not listed above, for example ScotRail and Hull Trains, are not affected by strike action. But some train companies with staff not on strike could be busy.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) advises that customers with advance, anytime or off-peak tickets for travel on Saturday can instead use their tickets up to and including 6 June.   

The RDG says passengers with advance tickets can be refunded fee-free if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.  

It further advises that if the advance ticket is for a train scheduled for a strike day, but it is not cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, and a customer prefers not to travel, they should contact their ticket retailer.  

If passengers have a return ticket they may also be entitled to a fee-free refund if any part of the journey is cancelled due to strikes.

Season ticket holders (flexi, monthly or longer) who cannot travel can claim 100% compensation through the Delay Repay scheme for the strike date of 3 June.

You can read further advice from National Rail about the strikes here.

Additional reporting by transport correspondent Katy Austin.

How are you affected by the strikes? Are you taking part in strike action? You can email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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