East Midlands Railway is putting contingency plans in place to support the running of as many services as possible for customers during the double strike action and will see reduced opening hours and a vastly reduced level of services for Thursday the 18th of August and Saturday the 20th of August.
The strike action is said to have an even greater impact than previous strikes.
The effect of two Unions striking at the same time means that East Midlands Railway cannot operate the same timetable that it used during the weekday strikes which had previously taken place and will see even further reductions in services across the rail network.
Customers are being asked to only travel if it is essential, for those who do need to travel it is advised to plan travel ahead leaving plenty of extra time for their journey. This advice also includes Friday the 19th of August which will experience knock-on effects to services due to the strike action. Sunday the 21st of August will also see some services to and from London affected this is due to engineering works.
Customers making their way either to or from football matches should note that the last train departure will start from approximately 15:30 and will mean that there are no return journey options. Football fans will need to find alternative travel arrangements for their return journey.
East Midlands Railway is working closely with staff members throughout the railway in order to provide a robust and reliable service for its customers. As with previous strike action, a substantial pool of contingency staff have been trained and have the same safety-critical standards as permanent colleagues and will enable services to be operated.
Network Rail will also be impacted by strike action and this means that its ability to operate the infrastructure will be substantially reduced.
Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director for East Midlands Railway, said:
“We are extremely disappointed that both RMT and TSSA have decided to opt for counterproductive strikes rather than working with the industry to find a deal that is acceptable for our people, our passengers and for taxpayers.
“As a result, there will be significant changes to our normal timetable, with differences between the timetables on Thursday 18 August and Saturday 20 August. Some parts of our network will have no train services at all, and other lines will have a reduced level of service.
“I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys next week – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”
Brief details of East Midlands Railway services for each day are as follows:
Thursday 18 August:
Services will operate between 07:30 and 18:30 only
East Midlands Railway Intercity will operate one train each hour between:
- Nottingham and London
- Sheffield and London
East Midlands Railway Regional will operate one train each hour between:
All other lines of the route will be closed.
East Midlands Railway Connect services and services between Nottingham and Sheffield will not be able to run.
Friday 19 August:
Services will start after 07:00 and will see some reductions during the day. Customers are advised to check ahead of travelling and allow extra time for their journey.
Saturday 20 August:
Services will operate between 07:30 and 18:30 only
East Midlands Railway Intercity will operate one train each hour between:
- Nottingham and London
- Sheffield and London
East Midlands Railway Regional will operate one train each hour between:
- Derby and Matlock
- Derby and Nottingham
All other lines of the route will be closed.
No Skegness Summer special services will run as no trains can operate either to or from Skegness on this date. The summer specials services only returned in July in a bid to support families making their way to the well-loved seaside town.
To find out more information including timetables, advice on refunds and ticket exchanges please visit: http://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk
Rail Replacement Buses will not be available where lines are closed as there will not be enough capacity to meet demand.
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