West Midlands Railway (WMR) train services will be severely disrupted from this Friday, 29 September until Friday, 6 October because of industrial action by members of the ASLEF union.

Next Saturday, 30 September and the following Wednesday, 4 October there will no services on any West Midlands Railway routes because of ASLEF strike action.

On Friday, 29 September and from Monday, 2 until Friday, 6 October members of the ASLEF union have imposed an overtime ban, which amounts to action short of strike and will result in alterations on several routes and some services may be cancelled at very short notice.

The overtime ban excludes Wednesday, 4 October, when there will be an all-out strike.

Passengers travelling with West Midlands Railway (WMR) have been urged to check their journeys and plan ahead of industrial action.

West Midlands Railway is not alone in being affected by the industrial action as other train operating companies will also be similarly affected by the industrial action. Passengers intending to travel during this period are strongly advised to check their journey plans before they travel.

During the period of industrial action, excluding the strike days, the following changes will apply to timetabled services:

between Leamington Spa and Nuneaton via Coventry

• Buses will replace trains

between Birmingham and Hereford,

• a reduced train service will operate supplemented by rail replacement buses
• between Birmingham and Shrewsbury
• fewer services will operate

Updates on the effect of industrial action on West Midlands Railway services can be found online at www.wmr.uk/industrialaction

Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: “It is disappointing that industrial action is continuing to affect passengers journeys.

“Passengers will need to find alternative modes of transport on Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October as no WMR services will be in operation. Passengers should also check their journeys before setting out on days when action short of strike is taking place as journeys may be subject to short-notice cancellation.

“Anyone holding a ticket for travel on a strike day can use their ticket on a different day or claim a full refund.”