Passengers travelling on Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink, and Gatwick Express trains on 16 and 18 March are advised to expect limited service and early shutdowns due to a strike action by members of the RMT union. According to the latest press release, the strike will result in a third of the usual services running, and in some areas, there will be no trains at all.
The disruption is expected to cause inconvenience for passengers, including longer waiting times and busy trains. First and last trains will be particularly busy, and customers are advised to consider travelling later and returning earlier, as no alternative transport will be made available.
Southern is hoping to run services on more routes than on recent strike days, but all services that operate will be on a limited service, with a later start and earlier finish than normal. Gatwick Express will also operate some services. In addition, services will start later on the days after the strikes on 17 and 19 March.
Passengers are advised to check the latest travel updates for their specific stations in advance and on the day of travel, including before setting off, using journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk. Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director, apologizes for the inconvenience caused by the strike and advises customers to check for their specific journey details, as there will be lots of variations from station to station.
Saunders added, “I truly appreciate how hard this is going to be for our customers. These national strikes are terrible for everyone and are the last thing anyone wants as we try to regrow the railway after the pandemic.”
