Rail strike: When do staff walk out and which trains will still be running in Shropshire?
Passengers have been urged to only travel if essential in Shropshire ahead of mass walkouts on the railway network over three days next week.
Strikes will be held over three days across the country over job cuts, pay and terms and conditions after talks failed to progress with Network Rail.
But how will this impact services across the county?
When are the strikes?
Strikes will be happening on Tuesday June 21, Thursday June 23 and Saturday June 25 after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) balloted around 40,000 staff across Network Rail and 15 train companies for industrial action.
Only around half of Britain’s rail network will be open on those days, and with a very limited service running on lines from around 7.30am until 6.30pm.
Which operators will be affected?
Staff at 13 train operators, as well has Network Rail, have voted to go on strike.
These include West Midlands Railways and Avanti West Coast, which both serve Shropshire.
The other operators with staff walking out are:
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Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
Greater Anglia
Great Western Railway
East Midlands Railway
LNER
Northern Trains
South Eastern
South Western Railway
TransPennine Express
Staff at Transport for Wales, which operates across Shropshire, Mid Wales and into Wolverhampton and Birmingham, are not going on strike, however the operator will still not be operating any services on the days of industrial action due to Network Rail staff striking.
Why are workers going on strike?
Rail workers have voted to strike amid a row with Network Rail over "pay freezes, threats to jobs and attacks on their terms and conditions" according to union bosses.
But Network Rail – the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network – has said the union "must recognise we are a public body and any pay increase has to be affordable for taxpayers".
Will I still be able to get to work?
It's going to be difficult in Shropshire with no trains running.
Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales has said it will not be operating any services in the county on strike days. That means there will be no trains running from Shrewsbury towards Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham, up to Crewe and Manchester, to Wrexham, Chester and North Wales, to Ludlow, Hereford, Cardiff and South Wales, along the Cambrian Line towards Welshpool and Newtown or along the Heart of Wales Line.
West Midlands Railway
West Midlands Railway has announced it will be running a limited number of services on the days workers strike, with passengers being urged only to travel if essential.
However, there will be no trains running between Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham on the days train staff are striking.
If you are able to get to Wolverhampton, there will be one train per hour running between the Black Country city and Birmingham, and one train an hour between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: "It is very disappointing that this planned strike action by the RMT is set to cause significant disruption to our passengers.
"We will be operating a very limited service all through the week and we are asking customers to only travel with us if their journey is essential and no other transport option is available to them. Passengers holding tickets or season tickets will be entitled to refunds and should visit our website for information."
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast will be running a reduced service too, with again no services in Shropshire.
The morning train from Shrewsbury to London Euston via Wolverhampton and Birmingham will not be running, neither will the evening return service.
Only two trains will run from Wolverhampton to London Euston, leaving at 8.24am and 9.24am.
In total only eight trains will run from from Birmingham to London on the days of strike action, with the last leaving New Street at 3.50pm.
Only eight trains will run in the opposite direction from the capital between 8.43am and 3.43pm. Of these, only the last two - the 2.43pm and 3.43pm - will run as far as Wolverhampton.
Will services be affected on other days?
Despite strikes only being held on three days next week, the railway network is likely to be affected for the whole week, with railway companies warning the hangover of delays and disruption would continue besides the strike-affected days.
Network Rail has said that a special timetable will be in operation across England, Scotland and Wales from Monday June 20 up to and including Sunday June 26.
In a statement Network Rail said: "On the days that follow the strikes (22nd, 24th and 26th June) the whole network will reopen but passengers should also expect disruption on these days as the strike days chosen have been designed to inflict as much disruption as possible, with not enough time between the strike days to fully recover to a normal service."