UK: Delays & disruptions

Engineering works are taking place at places across Britain, affecting various services. You can find details of major works below, but it's also possible to check the status of a train using the National Rail Enquiries departure board.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Current disruption

United Kingdom - Industrial action / Strike in UK from 7th to 9th May 2024

ASLEF train driver members have announced strike action in May. ASLEF members at 18 rail companies will take part in rolling one-day walk outs between 7 and 9 May. 

Impacted TOCs:

Tuesday 7 May:  c2c, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line

Wednesday 8 May: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, West Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, and CrossCountry

Thursday 9 May: LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express

With Advance, Anytime or Off-Peak tickets for travel between Tuesday 7th May – Thursday 9th, you can instead use your tickets any time between Monday 6th May until Monday 13th May.

The policy only applies to tickets purchased before the strikes were announced i.e. 22rd April. 

You will be able to claim a full refund with no admin fee charged, for their unused ticket (other than season ticket), if you decide not to travel because the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled after you purchased your Ticket, or your reservation will not be honoured. 

UK (LNER) - Industrial action on 1st March 2024

Due to industrial action at one of LNER's train service providers, trains will be subject to short-notice cancellations and changes until at least Sunday 10 March.

Industrial action affecting LNER has also been announced by the ASLEF union, affecting services on the following dates:

  • Strike action on Friday 1 March
  • An overtime ban by drivers between Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March

Until at least Sunday 10 March:

To minimize the impact on customers, some 9 and 10 car trains are being swapped for smaller 5 car trains. As a result, those services will be busier than usual and your existing seat reservation will no longer apply.  

Customers impacted by a cancelled or amended service can join an alternative LNER service on the same day, in the original class of travel or claim a full refund from their original point of sale (for unused tickets). Existing tickets can be used to travel on the new service but please make a new seat reservation in advance.

Friday 1 March:

On Friday 1 March, a reduced service will operate between London Kings Cross and Leeds / Edinburgh only. There will be no LNER service to / from Lincoln, Skipton, Bradford, Harrogate, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness. LNER will not be stopping at Northallerton, Morpeth, Alnmouth, Reston or Dunbar.

First services of the day will be later than usual and last services of the day will be earlier than normal.

Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March:

The overtime ban, in place on Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March, may lead to some short notice timetable changes.

United Kingdom - Strike from 29 January to 6 February 2024

the ASLEF Union announced strike action for the following train operators on the following days:

Tuesday 30 January, affecting:
  • Gatwick Express
  • Great Northern
  • South Western Railway (including Island Line)
  • Southeastern
  • Southern
  • Thameslink
Wednesday 31 January, affecting:
  • Northern
  • TransPennine Express
Friday 2 February, affecting:
  • c2c
  • Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express)
  • LNER
Saturday 3 February, affecting:
  • Avanti West Coast
  • East Midlands Railway
  • London Northwestern Railway
  • West Midlands Railway
Monday 5 February, affecting:
  • Chiltern Railways
  • CrossCountry
  • Great Western Railway

In addition, the above train operators will have an overtime ban between Monday 29 January and Tuesday 6 February. The impact this will have on services will differ between different Train Operators

If you purchased your ticket before the strikes were announced then you may be able to use your ticket on an alternative day.

Please ensure that you check your entire journey to ensure that it can be completed.

Where services are running on strike days, they are likely to start later and finish earlier, so please check in particular your first and last trains. 

Remember to also check your train times if you are travelling the day immediately after a full strike day as these may also be impacted.

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What to do if you experience cancellation

Please speak to the staff at the station if your train is cancelled. They will have the most up to date information and can tell you what to do.

If your tickets are not used and you are seeking a refund, please follow the below process:

  • If you purchased a new ticket or traveled by an alternate mode of transport, keep all of your tickets, as you will need to provide the scan copy to us at the time of claiming for refund.
  • If you purchased Mobile tickets or Collect at Station tickets, which are not retrieved, submit your claim within 28 days of the train departure date, by filling in the Contact us form and providing a scanned copy of the new ticket purchased. Our team will review your case and guide you further.
  • If you purchased Collect at Station tickets which were retrieved, ask the staff at the station to stamp your ticket as Unused. Then submit your claim within 28 days of the train departure date, by filling in the Contact us form and providing a scanned copy of the original ticket stamped Unused and the new ticket purchased. Our team will review your case and guide you further.

What to do if you experience a delay

Please speak to staff on the train or at the station if you are delayed. They will have the most up to date information and can tell you what to do. Also ask the staff to stamp your ticket with proof of delay. This will make it easier for you to travel on later trains.

Keep all of your tickets until you return home. They can be used to submit a claim to the rail operator if you incur any unavoidable additional costs (new tickets, taxis).

For more information, please see our Help article: What happens if I miss my connection. If you need to submit a claim, see: Submitting a claim for a UK train.

If you have tickets for onward travel on trains which are scheduled to run as normal, refunds and exchanges are only permitted as per fare conditions.

Please note that this information is provided by the rail operator and cannot be guaranteed by Rail Europe.