Train Strikes: What Days In October Will Rail Travel Be Disrupted?

Both the train drivers’ union Aslef and the RMT union, which represents other rail workers, have regularly taken industrial action over the past 18 months.

Aslef members are walking out on Wednesday 4 October. The union also started an overtime ban for drivers on Monday 2 October, which will run to Friday 6 October. Many of the affected operators will run no services at all on strike days. Travelling on the day before or after strike days might also be affected. On overtime ban days, there are likely to be some last-minute cancellations or timetable reductions. Passengers are advised to check before they travel.

Strike action by thousands of RMT members who work in London Underground stations has been cancelled. Union members had been scheduled to strike on Wednesday 4 October and Friday 6 October, in a long-running dispute over job losses. However, the action was suspended following “significant progress” in talks between the union and London Underground.

Workers at 16 train companies are taking part in the Aslef industrial action:

For the latest information, passengers should check National Rail or individual operators’ websites.

Passengers with advance tickets can be refunded fee-free if the train that they are booked on is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.   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 for strike dates through the Delay Repay scheme.

Unions say they want a pay offer reflecting the rising cost of living. But the rail industry is under pressure to save money, after the pandemic left a hole in its finances. The industry says changes to ways of working need to be agreed in order for pay to go up.

The average salary of rail workers in 2022 was £45,919, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). If drivers are excluded (because they tend to be members of the Aslef union, not RMT) its estimate is £39,518. However, the RMT union said that figure was too high because it does not include rail cleaning staff. The ONS says median pay for “train and tram drivers” is just under £59,000.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train companies, made an offer that would have seen rail workers receive a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022. It would then negotiate reforms ahead of a second year’s pay rise with individual operators. On 5 May, RMT members voted to extend the strike mandate for another six months. The Aslef union rejected a two-year offer which would see drivers get a backdated pay rise of 4% for 2022 and a 4% increase this year.

Aslef General Secretary Mick Whelan has said it had been forced into taking industrial action because the train companies “refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer”. A Department for Transport has said: “The government has met the rail unions, listened to them and facilitated improved offers on pay and reform.” Separately, a revised offer from Network Rail was accepted by RMT members on 20 March, ending a dispute with signal workers and maintenance staff. The union said the offer amounted to an uplift on salaries of between 14.4% for the lowest paid grades to 9.2% for the highest paid.

Unions are obliged to give at least 14 days’ notice of any strike action.