UK: Delays & disruptions

Engineering works are taking place at places across Britain, affecting various services. You can find details of major works below, but it's also possible to check the status of a train using the National Rail Enquiries departure board.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Current disruption

UK (LNER) - Industrial action on 1st March 2024

Due to industrial action at one of LNER's train service providers, trains will be subject to short-notice cancellations and changes until at least Sunday 10 March.

Industrial action affecting LNER has also been announced by the ASLEF union, affecting services on the following dates:

  • Strike action on Friday 1 March
  • An overtime ban by drivers between Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March

Until at least Sunday 10 March:

To minimize the impact on customers, some 9 and 10 car trains are being swapped for smaller 5 car trains. As a result, those services will be busier than usual and your existing seat reservation will no longer apply.  

Customers impacted by a cancelled or amended service can join an alternative LNER service on the same day, in the original class of travel or claim a full refund from their original point of sale (for unused tickets). Existing tickets can be used to travel on the new service but please make a new seat reservation in advance.

Friday 1 March:

On Friday 1 March, a reduced service will operate between London Kings Cross and Leeds / Edinburgh only. There will be no LNER service to / from Lincoln, Skipton, Bradford, Harrogate, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness. LNER will not be stopping at Northallerton, Morpeth, Alnmouth, Reston or Dunbar.

First services of the day will be later than usual and last services of the day will be earlier than normal.

Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March:

The overtime ban, in place on Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March, may lead to some short notice timetable changes.

United Kingdom - Strike from 29 January to 6 February 2024

the ASLEF Union announced strike action for the following train operators on the following days:

Tuesday 30 January, affecting:
  • Gatwick Express
  • Great Northern
  • South Western Railway (including Island Line)
  • Southeastern
  • Southern
  • Thameslink
Wednesday 31 January, affecting:
  • Northern
  • TransPennine Express
Friday 2 February, affecting:
  • c2c
  • Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express)
  • LNER
Saturday 3 February, affecting:
  • Avanti West Coast
  • East Midlands Railway
  • London Northwestern Railway
  • West Midlands Railway
Monday 5 February, affecting:
  • Chiltern Railways
  • CrossCountry
  • Great Western Railway

In addition, the above train operators will have an overtime ban between Monday 29 January and Tuesday 6 February. The impact this will have on services will differ between different Train Operators

If you purchased your ticket before the strikes were announced then you may be able to use your ticket on an alternative day.

Please ensure that you check your entire journey to ensure that it can be completed.

Where services are running on strike days, they are likely to start later and finish earlier, so please check in particular your first and last trains. 

Remember to also check your train times if you are travelling the day immediately after a full strike day as these may also be impacted.  

United Kingdom - Strike action on on Saturday 26 August, Friday 1 and Saturday 2 September 2023

Industrial action is due to take place on Saturday 26 August, Friday 1 and Saturday 2 September 2023. 

There will be running trains on these days, but with a reduced timetable.

If you already have a ticket booked for one of these dates, you can check before departure if your train is running.

Engineering works between London and Milton Keynes

Start date: 07/04/2023 

End date: 10/04/2023 

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Avanti West Coast: Route between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly / Liverpool Lime Street / Birmingham New Street / Shrewsbury / Wolverhampton / Lancaster / Blackpool North / Carlisle / Preston / Wrexham General / Holyhead / Glasgow Central is affected.

Additional information:

Friday 
  • Liverpool Lime Street service to operate one service every two hours start / terminating at Rugby 
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Glasgow Central running via Stafford, Alsager and Kirknewton via Shotts.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly via the Stoke-on-Trent.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Stafford via Birmingham New Street.
  • Holyhead service to operate to / from Crewe
Saturday 
  • Liverpool Lime Street service to operate one service every two hours start / terminating at Rugby 
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Carlisle running via Stafford.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly via the Stoke-on-Trent.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Stafford via Birmingham New Street.
  • Limited service between Carlisle and Glasgow Central running via Dumfries.
  • Holyhead service to operate to / from Crewe.
Sunday 
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Lancaster running via Stafford, Alsager, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly via the Stoke-on-Trent.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Crewe via Birmingham New Street and Alsager.
  • Holyhead service to operate to / from Crewe

Monday 

  • Liverpool Lime Street service to operate one service every two hours start / terminating at Rugby 
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Lancaster running via Stafford and Alsager. 
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent.
  • 1 train per hour Milton Keynes Central to Stafford via Birmingham New Street.
  • Limited service between Carlisle and Glasgow Central running via Dumfries.
  • Holyhead service to operate to / from Crewe

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London Northwestern Railway: Route between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central / Tring / Bletchley / Northampton / Birmingham New Street / Crewe / Coventry is affected

Additional information:

Train running between London Euston and Tring / Milton Keynes Central will not run.

Trains running between London Euston and Northampton / Birmingham New Street / Crewe will run between Milton Keynes Central and Northampton / Birmingham New Street / Stafford only (engineering work will also be taking place between Stafford and Crewe).

Rail replacement buses will run as follows:

  • Between Potters Bar and Watford Junction / Milton Keynes Central (not calling at Cheddington between 07:00 and 22:00)
  • Early morning and late night buses between Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington
  • Some early morning and late night buses will operate from / to London Euston.
  • Between Bedford and Milton Keynes Central

United Kingdom - National strike in UK on 16 and 18 March 2023

Strike action has been announced by the RMT union which will affect train operating companies on the following dates:

  • Thursday 16 March
  • Saturday 18 March

Journeys on the days before and after each strike day may also be affected, please check all journeys before you travel.

The following train operating companies are expected to be affected on the strike dates:

  • Avanti West Coast
  • Chiltern Railways
  • CrossCountry
  • East Midlands Railway
  • Gatwick Express
  • Great Northern
  • Great Western Railway
  • Greater Anglia and Stansted Express
  • LNER
  • London Northwestern Railway
  • Northern
  • South Western Railway
  • Southeastern
  • Southern
  • Thameslink
  • TransPennine Express
  • West Midlands Railway

The following train companies are not directly affected but do have some minor amendments to their timetable and may be busier than usual on the strike dates:

  • c2c
  • Elizabeth Line
  • Heathrow Express
  • Transport for Wales

The following train companies are not affected by the RMT Union strike action, although trains may be busier than usual on the strike dates:

  • Caledonian Sleeper
  • Grand Central
  • Heathrow Express
  • Hull Trains
  • London Overground
  • Lumo
  • Merseyrail
  • ScotRail

You can change your journey or request a refund for these days by contacting us.

UK - Industrial action affecting services on February 1 and 3 2023

An industrial strike action affects numerous train companies across Britain and the following have confirmed that they will be running no services on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February strike days:

Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; Gatwick Express; Great Northern; Heathrow Express; London Northwestern Railway; Northern; Southeastern; Southern; Thameslink, South Western Railway Island Line services; TransPennine Express; West Midlands Railway.

The following train companies have confirmed that they will be running an amended service on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February strike days:

Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express); Great Western Railway; LNER.

Services may also start later on days following the end of the strike action.

United Kingdom - Disruptions in December and January 

On Saturday 24 December, the last trains running will be significantly earlier than normal.

Note, as usual, there are no trains running on Sunday 25 December (Christmas day) and no LNER trains on Monday 26 December (Boxing Day).

Additionally, there is essential engineering work taking place over the same period. For the most accurate and up to date information please check the drop down below.

Strike days

  • Saturday 24, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 December 2022
  • Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 January 2023

Over this period, there may be some last-minute changes to their trains and other train operators. Always check your entire journey before you travel, even if there is no strike on your intended day of travel.

United Kingdom - Strike on 01 and 05 October 2022 

There will be a national strike across the UK railway network on Saturday 1st and Wednesday 5th of October.

Although the strike action does not involve Eurostar staff, Eurostar timetables are impacted because running hours have been reduced on UK rail lines, including the high-speed line they use. 

This means they’ll be running a reduced timetable. To find out if a train is running or cancelled, or if the departure and arrival times have changed, please check the following revised timetable: Eurostar - UK rail strike: reduced timetable between 21 and 25 June.

Due to a national strike across the UK railway network, Eurostar will be running a reduced timetable between 21 and 25 June .
Please check here the revised timetable to find out if your train is running or cancelled.
After sales: 
  • Exchange your booking for free for travel at a different time/date in the same travel class.
  • Cancel your booking and claim a Eurostar e-voucher valid for 12 months by contacting Rail Europe through the usual channel for exceptional requests.
  • Cancel your booking and claim a refund of your ticket by contacting Rail Europe through the usual channel for exceptional requests.
If your Eurostar train is scheduled to run, there will still be major disruption to local railway traffic in the UK, which may affect connecting journeys. London Underground services may also be disrupted.
If you choose to travel, please plan your journey to/from St Pancras International carefully and allow extra time.

United Kingdom - Industrial Action to affect services on September 15th and 17th – Cancelled 

Her Majesty sadly passed away in Balmoral on Thursday 8 September, hence the planned strike has been cancelled.

A national strike has been announced in United Kingdom on September 15th and 17th.  We regret to announce that some services could be disrupted. More information coming soon...

United Kingdom - Industrial Action to affect services on 27 July and 30 July

A national strike has been announced in United Kingdom on July 27th and 30th.  We regret to announce that some services could be disrupted. More information coming soon...

Strike information on the 21st, 23rd and 25th of June 2022.

Due to strike actions in UK on the 21st, 23rd, 25th of June, we regret to announce that some services will be disrupted.  If you are travelling expect severe disruption and plan ahead.

After sales: 

  • Refunds: If your service has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you will be entitled to a change or refund by contacting Rail Europe through the usual channel for exceptional requests.
  • Changing travel plans:  If you have a ticket for travel on 21, 23 or 25 June you can use this ticket either on the day before the date on the ticket or through and including the Monday and Tuesday of the following week (excluding Season Tickets). Please note if your ticket is for a journey that includes crossing London it will not be valid on London Underground services on an alternative date.
  • Changing train company or route: To help minimise any disruption, you may be able to use your ticket on another train company or an alternative route. 

Traffic disruptions in UK due to bad weather. 

Unfortunately routes in UK are impacted by the bad weather and some delays and cancellations are expected.

After 5:00PM GMT today, there will be no services North of Edinburgh, and there is a 50mph speed restriction in place between Newcastle and Edinburgh until close of service. 

This will increase journey times by approximately 60 minutes.

On Thursday 17 th February, they plan to run a full timetable with the exception of the Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow services, which will be started from Edinburgh.

On Friday 18 th February, Storm Eunice is expected to bring severe weather conditions across the UK, which is likely to cause significant disruption to services.

We ask all customers to check before they travel as this may be subject to change at short notice.

After sales: 

All customers with tickets dated for travel on Friday 18th February will be able to use these tickets to travel on Thursday 17th February instead.

Alternatively, if any customers prefer not to travel, full refunds can be claimed by contacting Rail Europe through the usual channel for exceptional requests.

Major Engineering Work during the Christmas and New Year period

Major engineering work will be taking place during the holiday period. Network Rail carry out essential improvement and engineering work across the rail network during this time as fewer people usually travel by train.

During the Christmas and New Year period major engineering work will be taking place at the following locations:

London Victoria: Track and signalling upgrades. Southern services will run to / from London Bridge instead from 26 December to 3 January inclusive.

Leeds: Track remodelling, signalling upgrades and new overhead wire installation takes place between 27 December and 3 January inclusive.

Completed works:

Heathrow Airport - A normal service has resumed to and from the Airport following the successful completion of the engineering work which took place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 December.

Moorgate - Finsbury Park: A normal service has resumed to / from Moorgate following the successful completion of engineering work which took place on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. 

Industrial action affecting CrossCountry services on Friday 31 December

Due to planned strike action by members of the RMT union, CrossCountry will only be able to run a very limited timetable on New Year’s Eve, Friday 31 December.

CrossCountry are advising customers to alter travel plans and avoid travel on their services on Friday 31 December.

CrossCountry will run a core but heavily reduced service between:

  • Edinburgh and Plymouth
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth
  • Birmingham New Street and Peterborough (a supplementary bus replacement runs between Leicester and Peterborough)

CrossCountry will NOT run any trains between:

  • Aberdeen and Edinburgh
  • Glasgow Central and Edinburgh
  • Derby and Nottingham
  • Peterborough and Stansted Airport
  • Cheltenham Spa and Cardiff Central
  • Newton Abbot and Paignton
  • Plymouth and Penzance

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What to do if you experience cancellation

Please speak to the staff at the station if your train is cancelled. They will have the most up to date information and can tell you what to do.

If your tickets are not used and you are seeking a refund, please follow the below process:

  • If you purchased a new ticket or traveled by an alternate mode of transport, keep all of your tickets, as you will need to provide the scan copy to us at the time of claiming for refund.
  • If you purchased Mobile tickets or Collect at Station tickets, which are not retrieved, submit your claim within 28 days of the train departure date, by filling in the Contact us form and providing a scanned copy of the new ticket purchased. Our team will review your case and guide you further.
  • If you purchased Collect at Station tickets which were retrieved, ask the staff at the station to stamp your ticket as Unused. Then submit your claim within 28 days of the train departure date, by filling in the Contact us form and providing a scanned copy of the original ticket stamped Unused and the new ticket purchased. Our team will review your case and guide you further.

What to do if you experience a delay

Please speak to staff on the train or at the station if you are delayed. They will have the most up to date information and can tell you what to do. Also ask the staff to stamp your ticket with proof of delay. This will make it easier for you to travel on later trains.

Keep all of your tickets until you return home. They can be used to submit a claim to the rail operator if you incur any unavoidable additional costs (new tickets, taxis).

For more information, please see our Help article: What happens if I miss my connection. If you need to submit a claim, see: Submitting a claim for a UK train.

If you have tickets for onward travel on trains which are scheduled to run as normal, refunds and exchanges are only permitted as per fare conditions.

Please note that this information is provided by the rail operator and cannot be guaranteed by Rail Europe.