Great Western Railway is warning customers of extreme disruption due to strike action taking place during December and January however, trains during the week prior to Christmas will run as usual.
Strike action will impact rail travel from the 13th to the 18th of December 2022 and also from the 24th of December to the 8th of January 2023. During most of these times, a limited and revised timetable will be in operation for a number of rail operators including Great Western Railway.
Strike days are as follows:
- 13th & 14th of December
- 16th & 17th of December
- 3rd & 4th of January
- 6th & 7th of January
On these days, there will only be an extremely limited service operating across a small number of routes. Some of the Great Western Railway network will see no services operate at all. During these dates, services which are able to operate will begin later than usual at 07.30 with all journeys completing by 18.30.
Days between strike action:
- 15th of December
- 5th of January
These dates will also see a limited timetable in operation with trains starting later than usual.
Days following strike action:
- 18th of December
- 8th of January
These dates will see trains start later than usual with the possibility of short-notice cancellations or changes.
If the strike action is called off, considerable disruption will still take place across the rail network as work takes place to put normal timetabling back in place.
Monday the 19th through to Saturday the 24th of December will see a full timetable in operation, however, trains will finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve. Customers are advised to check their travel plans ahead of making their journey and to travel earlier in the day where possible and reserve seating on services. Customers travelling on Christmas Eve are strongly advised to complete their train travel by lunchtime that day.
Following Christmas and during the new-year period a reduced timetable will be in operation across all of Great Western Railway's routes with some late-night cancellations taking place.
On days affected by strike action, passengers are advised to use alternative travel modes, where services are running, customers are reminded that they should only travel by train if totally necessary and they are strongly advised to reserve a seat. Other rail operators will be impacted by the industrial action and therefore it is likely that any onward travel could be affected.
Where Great Western Railway is able to operate services it is expected that they will be extremely busy. No rail replacement bus services are able to be put in place during this time.
Customers who already hold tickets for strike days are able to claim a full refund or change their ticket. Passengers who travel will be able to claim Delay Repay compensation should they experience a delay of 15 minutes or more.
Great Western Railway will also make tickets valid for use on alternative days as follows:
- Tickets for the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th of December can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday the 20th of December
- Tickets for the 24th and 27th of December can be used the day before where applicable, or up to and including Thursday the 29th of December
- Tickets for the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th of January can be used the day before, or up to and including Tuesday the 10th of January
Customers holding season tickets are able to claim compensation via the Delay Repay scheme.
For further detailed information, such as when journey planners will be updated with the latest train times, please visit: https://www.gwr.com/strike
