Train services around the UK will again be severely disrupted on Thursday as RMT members of 14 train operators stage the first of four planned 24-hour strikes.
Passengers were urged to check before travelling, and many routes said to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary, with many affected operators suspending remaining services in the early evening.
Train operators said they would “pull out all the stops” with emergency crews to ensure as many runs as possible. Around 40-50% of trains are expected to run overall, but with wide regional variations, with some operators in England running no trains at all on parts of their networks.
Thursday’s strike does not involve members of Network Rail’s RMT, who have called off planned industrial action pending a referendum on a pay deal, reducing the impact on some commuters.
Operators in Wales and Scotland are not directly involved, but cross-border services from London and the rest of England will be cut. Intercity services operated by the LNER will be severely reduced, with the last trains departing in the early afternoon, while Avanti, GWR and East Midlands will operate hourly intercity services.
Others, such as Northern, TransPennine and Chiltern, will not run trains to main stops on their regular network. However, C2C and parts of Greater England will remain largely unchanged.
Outages could persist into early Friday, while a second strike is expected on Saturday. Industry body Rail Delivery Group has urged passengers to check before traveling for updates as the last trains in the evening before strike days and early morning trains following strikes could also be affected.
Two more stops are planned by RMT train crews in a fortnight, on March 30 and April 1.
Rail Delivery Group Chairman Steve Montgomery said: “This latest round of strikes will be yet another inconvenience for our customers who have already been disrupted for months and will cost our people more money at a time when they can least afford it. .
“Unfortunately, although we will be pulling out all the stops to get as many trains running as possible, many parts of the rail network will experience reduced services on all four strike days.”
Passengers who already have tickets for the days of the strike can use them on the days before or after the strike or get a free refund if the booked train is cancelled, delayed or cancelled.
Montgomery said RMT management was blocking the possibility of resolving the dispute by refusing to give train operator members a vote on the proposed offer over two years, 9% and the lowest paid 13%.
A similar proposal for Network Rail employees has been put to a referendum, the result of which is expected on Monday.
The RMT has been approached for comment.