Significant disruption expected over the festive period on the CrossCountry network as RMT confirms strike action

• RMT confirms full strike days on:
  
  • Tuesday 13 December and Wednesday 14 December
  • Friday 16 December and Saturday 17 December
  • Tuesday 3 January and Wednesday 4 January
  • Friday 6 January and Saturday 7 January
• Significant disruption is expected – customers urged to only travel if necessary and check their journeys in advance
• For travel between Sunday 18 December to Monday 2 January, customers should check the website for the latest information

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced extensive strike action over the festive period causing significant disruption on the rail network. As a result, CrossCountry customers are being urged to only travel if essential and to check their journeys before travelling.

The planned strikes mean that CrossCountry can only run a limited service between 0730 and 1830 with trains likely to be far busier than usual as customers travel over the festive period.

CrossCountry will run the following services on strike days:

• One train per hour from Birmingham to Leicester.
• One train per hour from Manchester to Reading, with extensions to Southampton. However, services will not call at Stockport, Macclesfield or Stoke-on-Trent.
• One train per hour from Birmingham to York, with some extensions to and from Edinburgh.

On the days following strike action, customers are advised to check before they travel as trains will start later. Customers using other train operators to complete their journey should also check their websites before travelling.

Between Sunday 18 December and Monday 2 January, the vast majority of services will run as normal. However, there are a few notable changes:

• Two trains per hour between Birmingham and Leicester, with one train per hour through to Peterborough and Stansted between 0700 and 1900. A reduced service will run between Birmingham and Leicester after 1900
• One train per hour between Nottingham to Cardiff between 0700 and 1900
• Trains will stop earlier on Christmas Eve.

Customers are advised to check the CrossCountry website before they travel as there is also planned engineering work on parts of the network.

Tom Joyner, Managing Director at CrossCountry said: “This industrial action will cause significant disruption to those who rely on us to see family and loved ones and impact businesses which depend on Christmas custom. We anticipate that our services will be busier than usual because of the action falling over the festive period. We would like to express our apologies to passengers, who will be affected. We remain committed to reaching an agreement which allows us to deliver an improved railway with a sustainable, long-term future for those who work on it.

“If you do have to travel by rail, please check our website for the most up to date information and plan ahead.”

Information about CrossCountry services will be regularly updated at www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/disruption, where there will also be information around Delay Repay, refund and ticket acceptance.

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