Rail strikes: Only travel by train on Christmas Eve if essential say train companies

Transport for Wales (TfW) is urging train passengers to plan ahead for journeys over the Christmas period, and only travel on Christmas Eve if necessary with strike action set to bring rail services to an early end.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) have announced strike action will take place on 24-27 December, which will significantly disrupt the rail network across the whole of Wales, England and Scotland.

TfW is not involved in the industrial action, having come to an agreement with unions earlier this week. However, the industrial action resulting from the dispute between the unions and Network Rail means TfW will be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure. Other operators’ services will also be impacted by the industrial action.

TfW is advising customers to only make essential journeys on Christmas Eve, and to aim to finish their journeys by midday as services will wind down in the afternoon ahead of the start of industrial action in the evening.

TfW services will not be running on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, resuming on 27 December – services on some routes will start later than usual that day due to the strike action. Core Valley Lines services will also not be running on New Year’s Day.

(Lead image: Transport for Wales)