CrossCountry confirms strike action will affect services over festive period

• Strike dates confirmed for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as union urged to reconsider
• CrossCountry to run a very limited service on days affected
• Customers asked to alter their travel plans to avoid strike days

CrossCountry has confirmed its services will be impacted over the festive period due to planned strike action by the RMT (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers).

The union has instructed its members not to work on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, resulting in the cancellation of many CrossCountry services.

Tom Joyner, Managing Director at CrossCountry said: “We are disappointed by the result of the ballot and the intention to strike. It’s designed to cause maximum disruption at a time when people are looking forward to spending time with loved ones. This is damaging to our industry and importantly our customers at a time when we should be building confidence in travelling by train. We remain open to continuing talks with the RMT to prevent this strike. However, the action will cause significant disruption to our services.”

The strike focusses on the use of managers to cover Senior Conductor and Train Manager duties. There is a long history on the railway and at CrossCountry for managers to hold a variety of competencies, including the ability to cover Senior Conductor and Train Manager duties.

The long-distance operator, who services run across the country, including into Scotland and Wales, said it will only be able to run a limited service on the days affected. CrossCountry tickets will be valid on the following operators (with restrictions): TfL, South Western Railway, Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express, Greater Anglia, Govia Thameslink Railway, East Midlands Railway, and West Midlands Trains, Avanti, LNER, GWR, Chiltern Railways and ScotRail. Please check the CrossCountry website for more details.

Customers are strongly advised to alter their plans and where possible avoid travel on a strike day. They should also check before they travel with the very latest information here: https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/disruption

ENDS

Contact Information

CrossCountry Press Office: [email protected]

About CrossCountry

CrossCountry is a long-distance passenger train operator, with a network stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Stansted to Cardiff and calling at over 100 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of Britain’s 10 largest cities and delivers 240 services every weekday, equating to over 42 million passenger journeys each year.

For further information on CrossCountry services, visit crosscountrytrains.co.uk or visit one of our social media platforms via X @crosscountryuk or Facebook at facebook.com/crosscountrytrains