Great Western Railway train drivers will go on strike next week.
Rail passengers are being warned of fresh disruption to services because of a new round of industrial action and an overtime ban being carried out by train drivers in a long-running pay dispute.
Members of Aslef at 16 train operators will stage three one-day strikes across different train operating companies, including GWR, between April 5 and 8 as well as an overtime ban from Thursday April 4 to Saturday April 6 and from Monday April 8 to Tuesday April 9, which may lead to short-notice cancellations.
Revised timetables for the strikes have been drawn up and passengers are being advised to check them before travelling.
There will be changes to services across large parts of the network, with some train operators not running any services on strike days.
Train companies said they will operate as many services as possible but there will be regional variations, with some areas having no services on strike days, while those that do run will start later and finish much earlier than usual – typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
London Underground drivers who are members of Aslef are also set to strike for 24 hours on Monday, April 8, in a separate dispute.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “We are sorry that this round of strikes called by the Aslef leadership risk disrupting journeys.
“While we are doing all we can to keep trains running and we will work with our industry partners to keep as many trains running as possible, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Thursday April 4 to Tuesday April 9.
“Our advice is to check before you travel and follow the latest travel information.”
GWR train drivers will walk out on Saturday, April 6 along with colleagues at Chiltern, LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express.
Industrial action at other travel providers includes Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, and CrossCountry on Friday, April 5.
Meanwhile, c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR’s Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern (including Gatwick Express) Southeastern, South Western Railway will strike on Monday, April 8.
Aslef has staged a series of strikes since the dispute started 20 months ago, arguing that drivers have not had a pay rise for years, despite many working through the pandemic.
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