Industrial action may affect your Birmingham travel plans this Thursday, November 12. Train Managers, who are part of the RMT union, will take part in a 24-hour strike for a staffing dispute on Chiltern Railways’ proposed East West Rail route from Oxford to Milton Keynes.
Chiltern Railways expects to operate most of its services, with many customers experiencing a near-normal train service, but the operator has confirmed that services to and from Stratford-upon-Avon, Leamington Spa and Birmingham Moor Street will be affected.
What changes are happening?
- There will be no Chiltern Railways services between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa all day. You will need to travel via Dorridge, using West Midlands Railway services between Stratford-upon-Avon and Dorridge.
- There will be a small reduction in the overall number of services running between Leamington Spa and Birmingham Moor Street, due to the local ‘shuttle’ services not running. This will particularly impact customers at Hatton & Lapworth.
- There will be no Chiltern Railways services north of Birmingham Moor Street all day. Customers requiring stations towards Stourbridge Junction should use West Midlands Railway services.
- The normal number of trains will run into and out of London Marylebone. There are already some minor timetable changes in place for morning and evening peak times, due to England playing Croatia at Wembley Stadium in the Nations League
Why is this strike happening?
Train Managers have raised concerns over plans to introduce driver-only operations on East West Rail, threatening both passenger safety and existing roles. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey has said: “Driver-only operation represents an unacceptable weakening of safety standards.”
A spokesperson for Chiltern Railways has said: “Every East West Rail service will have two people on board — the Driver, and a colleague looking after passengers: checking tickets, helping people who need assistance, and on hand to assist with any issues.
“We have run most of our trains with the Driver in control of the doors for decades, safely and as approved by the independent rail regulator. It also means over 100 new permanent jobs at Chiltern, and no changes to the roles of existing colleagues.”
