Saturday the 30th of September and Wednesday the 4th of October will see Great Western Railway services affected by strike action carried out by union ASLEF. The action will see a great deal fewer trains able to operate than usual and the rail operator is reminding its customers to consider travelling on the days surrounding industrial action where possible.

Several rail operators across the country will be operating substantially reduced and altered timetables due to the impact of the strike action, of which Great Western Railway will see the majority of its network offering no services.

Great Western Railway services which are able to operate during the industrial action will see services commence later than normal, starting from 7:00, with all journeys completing by around 18:30.

Customers who hold tickets for strike days can use them on the rail operator’s services on alternative days:

• Tickets for Saturday, the 30th of September can be used the day prior or up to and including Tuesday the 3rd of October.
• Tickets for Wednesday, the 4th of October can be used the day prior or up to and including Friday the 6th of October.

Train services which are operational during the industrial action are anticipated to be much busier than on other strike days, hence GWR’s advice to travel on other days where possible.

No services will be operating to Weston-super-Mare during the industrial action and those making their way to or from UK Pride at Weston-super-Mare on Saturday the 30th of September are advised to use alternate transport options.

Those attending Exeter Chiefs or Exeter City games should also note there will be no services operating on the Exmouth branch line and will need to use alternative transport options.

Customers who do have to travel by train during the strike action are advised to check their travel plans ahead of making a journey. Advice is also being given that other rail operators are impacted by the strike action and this could lead to onward travel also being affected.

No rail replacement bus services will be in operation during the strike action.

Sunday the 1st of October will also see planned engineering work take place with the following changes in operation:

• Buses will replace trains between Didcot and Swindon
• The North Downs line will see buses replace trains between Guildford and Redhill
• Buses will replace trains at Moreton-in-Marsh and Worcester Shrub Hill

Further disruption is also set to take place on Friday the 29th of September and between Monday the 2nd and Friday, the 6th of October as action short of a strike is also carried out by union ASLEF and will lead to some short notice alterations or cancellations. Once again, customers are advised to check their travel plans just before leaving in order to be aware of such changes.

At present, online journey planners are being updated once complete details can be found by clicking here.

A full refund or ticket amendment is available for customers who have already purchased tickets but choose not to travel during the industrial action. Customers who do opt to travel during the action will be entitled to Delay Repay compensation should their service be delayed by 15 minutes or more.

Customers who hold season tickets are able to apply for compensation via Delay Repay.

Great Western Railway’s refund policy also remains in place during the industrial action.

Customers who hold a return ticket are able to claim a refund for the unused full fare, even if just one leg of the journey is impacted.