CrossCountry customers urged to plan ahead of industrial action

CrossCountry customers are being warned of travel disruption due to planned industrial action by the ASLEF union between Monday 29 January and Tuesday 6 February.

A nine-day overtime ban for CrossCountry drivers belonging to the ASLEF union may mean short-notice changes or cancellations to train services during this period.

On Monday 5 February, no CrossCountry services will operate during a one-day strike by the ASLEF union.

On Wednesday 31 January, planned strike action at other train operators is likely to lead to significantly busier CrossCountry services between Birmingham and Edinburgh via Leeds.

Similarly, planned strikes on Saturday 3 February will affect West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and East Midlands Railway – meaning CrossCountry services between Manchester and Reading via the West Midlands are likely to be very busy.

Planned engineering work will also affect journeys between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton, between Exeter St David’s and Bristol Temple Meads, as well as between Leeds, York and Newcastle on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 February. Journeys may take longer than usual and rail replacement buses may be in operation on some routes.

Customers are being advised to only travel if essential and leave more time for their journey. Services on Saturday 3 February are expected to be significantly busier than usual and queueing systems may be in place for customers at some stations.

Mark Goodall, CrossCountry’s Service Delivery Director, said:  “We’re sorry to customers impacted by this latest round of industrial action. While we’re working hard to run as many services as possible over these days, there is likely to be significant disruption for people planning to travel – especially on Saturday 3 February.

“I’d ask customers to check their whole journey before setting off, especially if travelling later in the day. Customers can visit the CrossCountry website or National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information.”