Rail passengers are being urged to plan ahead, check before they travel, and travel only if necessary on New Year’s Eve and in the new year, as strike action and engineering works are set to disrupt rail services across multiple networks, including Thameslink.
Firstly there There is an overtime ban which means passengers should check before they travel from now until Monday, 2 January.
Then, there will be widespread disruption due to RMT strikes on 3,4, 6, and 7 January 2023.
Followed by ASLEF drivers’ industrial action which will see no services at all on 5 January 2023.
Engineering works are also in place
People travelling into London on New Year’s Eve will find the regular Saturday timetable operating and Blackfriars will close towards midnight to help manage crowds watching the fireworks.
However, the advice is to plan ahead and check the last trains, as some will end before midnight.
Further “vital” pre-planned engineering work is still going ahead on 6 and 7 January, with Victoria closed and trains diverted to London Bridge.
A full-size service map, for days when services are limited, is available to download below, but the expected disruption and advice are as follows:
- Check before you travel from now until 2 January due to the overtime ban. New Year’s Eve trains are on a Saturday timetable but there may be busy trains and last-minute changes
- The advice for Tuesday and Wednesday (3 and 4 January) is to travel only if absolutely necessary, due to the national RMT strike at Network Rail and train operators
- On 5 January there will be no trains on any part of the network due to a national strike by train driver members of the ASLEF union
- Friday and Saturday (6 and 7 January) travel only if absolutely necessary, due to the national RMT strike at Network Rail and train operators
- Also on Friday, 6 January 2023, many routes closed entirely south of London. Services start later each day and finish much earlier than normal (from 7.30am to 4.30/6.30pm, with the last trains as early as 3.30pm on East Coast Main Line routes to/from London King’s Cross).
- Services will resume after the previous day’s strikes at around 7.30am
- Then on Saturday & Sunday 7 & 8 January – pre-planned engineering work
- Sunday 8 January – late start to services
- School children in particular should plan ahead and check online at nationalrail.co.uk
- Gatwick Express will not run but Gatwick will be served by eight trains an hour in each direction by Southern and Thameslink. Customers will need to find another way to reach their destination
- It is expected the first and last trains on RMT strike days when they are running are expected to be particularly busy.
If passengers absolutely have to travel, they should consider going later or returning earlier if possible, especially as no alternative transport can be made available.
Angie Doll, Chief Operating Officer at Govia Thameslink Railway which operates all four train companies apologised for the disruption and called the industrial action “regrettable”. She also added that there could be last-minute changes to services.
“Services could also be subject to last-minute change on other days beforehand.
“On New Year’s Eve, we’ll be running our regular Saturday timetable. We do have late-night trains but it’s essential to check what’s running and your return journey before heading out.”
