Bank holiday rail chaos across West Midlands as strikes disrupt services - warning to 'only travel if necessary'

Rail passengers are being warned of disruption to services across the West Midlands as industrial action is set to take place.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will take industrial action today (Friday 22 May) and Saturday (23 May), affecting West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR).

WMR, which operates both railways, said in a message to passengers: “We advise you to only travel if necessary as trains will only run on a small number of routes.

“Services on both dates will operate to a reduced timetable (from 7am) with no trains running after 7pm on Friday 22 May and a later 7am start of service on Saturday 23 May.”

The company said that if people do travel, they should be prepared for “significant disruption” to journeys.

LNR also warned that the industrial action will lead to a “very limited” service across its network.

Routes with a limited service on Friday and Saturday are Birmingham to Liverpool and Birmingham – Northampton – Milton Keynes – London Euston – both one train an hour.

Routes with a limited service on Friday 22 May and Saturday 23 May are:

• Cross City Line (Lichfield Trent Valley – Redditch / Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street) – two trains per hour
• Wolverhampton – Walsall via Birmingham New Street – one train per hour
• Rugeley Trent Valley – Birmingham International via Birmingham New Street – one train per hour

Commuters are being advised to check for up to date information on journeys.

The dispute involves roster clerks, duty train crew managers and control staff.

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said workers were seeking parity on pay with those in other unions.

She said: “That is an intolerable situation, especially given the fact these are modest demands. Our reps have consulted the membership and they remain determined to proceed with their legitimate action.

“It’s now up to the company to come to their senses and stop these walkouts. Our union remains open to further discussions and only takes strike action as a last resort.”

Ian McConnell, Managing Director at WMR and LNR, said: “We encourage TSSA to continue talks with us to reach a resolution to this dispute.

"This strike action will cause disruption to our customers with a significantly reduced timetable in operation on both dates.

"We are doing all we can to minimise the impact as far as possible and apologise to customers for the inconvenience.

"However, where services are running, we advise customers to only travel if necessary and to allow more time for their journey."