What dates are the train strikes in March and which lines are affected? | The Sun

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TRAIN SERVICES will face further disruption this month as strikes are planned affecting services across the country.

The general public will feel the brunt of strike action as unions demand pay rises for staff to deal with soaring costs of living due to inflation.

What are the rail strike dates?

The planned rail strike dates for March 2023 will see action take place on:

  • Thursday, March 16, 2023
  • Saturday March 18, 2023
  • Thursday, March 30, 2023

It is envisaged that the strikes will have a wide reaching effect on services across the country.

The day following strikes, now called "shoulder days", will see timetables running at 60% of their normal capacity.

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When do the train strikes finish?

The latest round of talks between union bosses and train operators has seen a significant increase to the offer put on the table.

Previously, an offer of a 4% payrise over two years was suggested.

However, on January 17, 2023, the RDG (Rail Delivery Group)made its "best and final offer" to the RMT leadership.

This offer includes a pay rise of 4% from January 2023. and 5% (or minimum £1,750 rise) backdated to January 2022.

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The deal includes changes to work practices.

This offer comes after the January 6, 2023, offer from RDG to Aslef of 4 plus 4 per cent rise backdated to 2022.

It includes no compulsory redundancies until March 31, 2024.

It is thought that the strikes have had significant cost to the industry as a result.

Which train lines are affected by the rail strike?

During the current planned action, the following train companies have confirmed that they will be running no services on the two dates in question.

  • 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

Checking with local operators is advised to see how your journey is affected as the strikes are expected to cause nationwide disruption.

Will there be any more rail strikes in 2023?

A further strike day is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2023.

With union members voting, more strikes could be planned into the year, unless workers receive a deal they find acceptable in talks.

Mick Whelan, general gecretary of Aslef, said of the January 6 offer: "The proposal is not and could not ever be acceptable but we are willing to engage in further discussions within the process that we previously agreed."

He added: "Not only is the offer a real-terms pay cut, with inflation running north of 10%, but it came with so many conditions attached that it was clearly unacceptable.

"They want to rip up our terms and conditions in return for a real-terms pay cut!

"It was clearly a rushed offer, made just before our meeting with the minister [Huw Merriman], and not one, it seems to me, that was designed to be accepted.

"Our members at these companies have not had an increase since 2019, despite soaring inflation, and it is time the companies – encouraged, perhaps, by the government – sat  down with us and got serious.

"That is the way – and the only way – to end this dispute."

At the beginning of 2023, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT claimed that the government had blocked a deal to end the dispute.

He said that he is willing to negotiate but requires an offer on pay, jobs and conditions that their members can vote on.

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Talking about the latest offer that has been made, Lynch said: "The national executive committee will be considering this matter and has made no decision on the proposals nor any of the elements within them.

“We will give an update on our next steps in due course.”

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