ASLEF, the trade union representing train drivers, has announced strike action on Sunday 3rd December, and an overtime ban between Friday 1st December and Saturday 9th December.
As a result, no West Midlands Railway services operated on Sunday 3rd December.
- Tickets dated for travel on affected services on these dates - 1st, 2nd, 4th December - will be accepted for alternative travel up until Friday 8th December.
- Rail replacement coaches will be on standby at key locations. However, please note capacity will be limited and journey times significantly extended.
- Journey planners will be updated overnight ahead of each affected day to reflect which services are expected to be cancelled.
- Please check before you travel and consider travelling on other routes and modes where possible.
Planned daily amendments to services
Monday 4th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
07:11 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
10:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
14:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
18:48 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:59 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
05:56 Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford
08:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
12:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
21:00 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
05:43 Great Malvern to Birmingham New Street starts from Worcester Shrub Hill at 06:00.
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
07:10 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
18:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
21:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
05:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
17:26 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
20:04 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
22:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Birmingham – Rugeley
The following service will not operate:
23:22 Birmingham New Street to Hednesford (please note: this is the last service of the day*)
*Rail replacement will run between Walsall and Hednesford, connecting the 23:00 Birmingham New Street to Walsall.
Tuesday 5th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
07:11 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
10:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
14:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
18:48 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:59 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
05:56 Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford
08:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
12:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
21:00 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
07:10 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
18:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
21:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
05:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
17:26 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
20:04 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
22:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Birmingham – Rugeley
The following service will not operate:
23:22 Birmingham New Street to Hednesford (please note: this is the last service of the day*)
*Rail replacement will run between Walsall and Hednesford, connecting the 23:00 Birmingham New Street to Walsall.
Wednesday 6th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
07:11 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
10:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
14:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
18:48 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:59 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
05:56 Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford
08:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
12:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
21:00 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
07:10 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
18:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
21:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
05:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
17:26 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
20:04 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
22:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Birmingham – Rugeley
The following service will not operate:
23:22 Birmingham New Street to Hednesford (please note: this is the last service of the day*)
*Rail replacement will run between Walsall and Hednesford, connecting the 23:00 Birmingham New Street to Walsall.
Thursday 7th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
07:11 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
10:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
14:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
18:48 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:59 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
05:56 Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford
08:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
12:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
21:00 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
07:10 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
18:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
21:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
05:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
17:26 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
20:04 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
22:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Birmingham – Rugeley
The following service will not operate:
23:22 Birmingham New Street to Hednesford (please note: this is the last service of the day*)
*Rail replacement will run between Walsall and Hednesford, connecting the 23:00 Birmingham New Street to Walsall.
Friday 8th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
07:11 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
10:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
14:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
18:48 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:59 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
05:56 Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford
08:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
12:50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
21:00 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
07:10 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
18:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
21:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
05:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
17:26 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
20:04 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury
22:56 Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Birmingham – Rugeley
The following service will not operate:
23:22 Birmingham New Street to Hednesford (please note: this is the last service of the day*)
*Rail replacement will run between Walsall and Hednesford, connecting the 23:00 Birmingham New Street to Walsall.
Saturday 9th December
Leamington Spa - Nuneaton
No services (full rail replacement)
Birmingham - Hereford (via Worcester)
The following services will not operate:
06:07 Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street
08:40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
1940 Hereford to Birmingham New Street
22:50 Hereford to Worcester Shrub Hill (please note: this is the last service of the day)
0650 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
1750 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
2120 Birmingham New Street to Hereford
Birmingham - Shrewsbury
The following services will not operate:
22:40 Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street
20:56 Birmingham to Shrewsbury
Birmingham - Rugeley
The following service will be amended:
22:48 Wolverhampton to Hednesford will terminate at Birmingham New Street (please note: this is the last service of the day)
Please click here for details of London Northwestern Railway services impacted.
Other train operators will be impacted on the following dates:
- East Midlands Railway and LNER - Saturday 2nd December
- London Northwestern Railway, Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, Great Northern and Thameslink - Sunday 3rd December
- c2c, Greater Anglia and Stansted Express - Tuesday 5th December
- Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway - Wednesday 6th December
- CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express - Thursday 7th December
- Northern and TransPennine Express - Friday 8th December
If you purchased a ticket for travel between Saturday 2nd December and Friday 8th December (inclusive), this can instead be used on any day between Friday 1st December and Tuesday 12th December (inclusive). Please note: tickets must have been purchased before 17 November, and London Underground services are excluded.
Please consider your entire journey before you travel. Journey planners are now updated for the duration of the strike period. Please check the first and last train times on each day impacted by industrial action.
What are my options if I have a ticket for a strike day?
I have a Advance, Off-peak or Anytime ticket
If your train is cancelled or delayed, and you choose not to travel, tickets can be changed to another date, or they can be returned for a full refund at your point of purchase. No administration fee will be charged. For more information, please visit our Refund & Exchanges policy.
I have a monthly or longer Season ticket (including Flexi-Season)
If you have a Season Ticket that is monthly or longer, or have an activated days’ worth of travel on a Flexi Season ticket, and are unable to travel due to timetable disruption on the day that strike action has been called, then you can claim 100% compensation for these days through Delay Repay
I have a weekly Season ticket
If you’re a Weekly season ticket holder and do not travel on a strike day, you will not be able to claim compensation. If you choose to travel but your journey is delayed or disrupted, based on the amended timetable, you are entitled to Delay Repay as normal.
To make sure that a weekly season ticket is the best value for you, check the National’s Rail handy season ticket calculator .
Frequently asked questions
Will you be running trains on strike days?
This depends on which union is taking industrial action, and the nature of such action. The majority of our Traincrew are represented by 2 unions – the RMT (Senior Conductors) and ASLEF (Drivers).
In the event of RMT strike action we will provide a limited service using management volunteers and staff who are not partaking in strike action. We will prioritise the delivery of a very limited service on our mainline routes however, our advice to customers is to only travel if your journey is essential and you have no other means of transport available.
We are unable to provide a train service in the event of ASLEF strike action.
The impact of ‘action short of a strike’ mandates vary can depend on a number of scenarios – (more info below).
What does ‘action short of a strike' mean?
Action short of a strike means that individuals will work normally, apart from when there are duties that the union is asking its members to refuse to undertake.
In practice this could be an overtime ban or working strictly to rostered hours, only undertaking specific duties noted in a job description. The terms of action short of a strike can differ between unions.
This can result in a lack of resilience to cover absences, or a lack of available staff in the event of disruption or delays that may see staff work above their regular hours.
The result of the above may lead to amended timetables and on the day cancellations, particularly if there is disruption to services.
Where can I see the timetable for strike days?
Temporary timetables will be uploaded into journey planners as soon as possible after industrial action is announced – we’ll let you know via the information at the top of this page when to expect updated timetables so you can plan your journey.
Additionally, we’ll share PDF copies on our timetables page as soon as timings have been confirmed with Network Rail.
Why are no trains running on my route?
During RMT strike days, we rely on a limited resource of contingency Senior Conductors and are limited in the number of services and lines of route we can operate as a result.
During ASLEF strike days, we are unable to run services on any part of our network.
Where can I plan alternative travel?
Visit Transport for West Midlands to plan alternative travel around the West Midlands region.
Is Passenger Assistance available on strike days?
Passenger Assistance provision will be available as usual on services we are able to run and can still be booked with two hours' notice or customers can turn up and go.
However, we are strongly advising customers to only travel if your journey is essential and you have no other means of transport available.
Please note we will not be able to provide Passenger Assistance outside of those routes/services advertised in our Strike-day timetables.
Why is your timetable disrupted either side of strike days?
In order to run our usual timetable, trains must be in designated positions at the start and end of each day. The strike action means there will be some disruption to days either side of strike days as trains cannot be moved into their correct positions. This will usually impact on the final services of the evening before any strike action or the morning following strike actions but we encourage customers to check their services on the day via our live information sources on the national rail website / app.
Will there be rail replacement transport?
Due to the scale of this national strike action it is not possible to provide rail replacement transport.
What if I have bought a ticket for travel on a strike day?
If you have purchased a ticket and your train is cancelled or delayed, and you choose not to travel, you can return the unused ticket to your point of purchase for a full refund.
If you hold a season ticket, you will be entitled to Delay Repay compensation if you travel on an affected date.
My outbound journey ticket is affected by the strike, but my return journey is not, am I still entitled to a full refund?
If you don't make your outbound journey because of the strike, you are entitled to a refund on your outbound and return ticket even if the latter is not affected by a strike. And the same if the return journey was affected by a strike but the outbound was not.
Can I book an Advance ticket during strikes?
Advance tickets will be withdrawn on strike dates due to the disruption to journeys.
Can I claim compensation if my journey is delayed?
You will be eligible to claim Delay Repay if your journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more against the revised timetable in operation on a strike day. Please keep hold of your ticket and submit your claim within 28 days of travel. If you’re claiming Delay Repay compensation against a service removed from the timetable due to action short of a strike, please contact us directly. Claims against other services not highlighted above, including on the day cancellations should be applied through the normal Delay Repay Portal. If you’re having difficulty submitting your claim, please contact us.
Are other train operators affected?
In most instances, the majority of other Train Operators are also impacted by industrial action.
Please check the relevant operator website or National Rail Enquiries for information on what services are running