CrossCountry: Customers advised of disruption due to planned strikes

CrossCountry customers are being warned of significant travel disruption due to planned industrial action by the RMT union on Saturday, 6 December.

The strike – the first of four planned in December – will see RMT union members in customer service roles declining to work.

All CrossCountry routes will be impacted, with a limited service on some CrossCountry routes and no CrossCountry services on some parts of the network. Services will also finish much earlier than usual.

Trains that do run will be significantly busier than usual, and services will also finish much earlier in the day – so passengers are advised to plan return journeys carefully.

There will also be changes to some calling patterns for services that do run, and planned engineering work will mean some journeys take longer than usual.

Shiona Rolfe, CrossCountry’s Managing Director, said: “We are disappointed that the RMT has announced more industrial action that will disrupt customers over the busy Christmas period. We’ve worked hard to make a fair and reasonable offer that addresses the key points raised in this dispute, and we believe we’ve made meaningful progress in negotiations.

“Our priority is now minimizing disruption for those traveling on Saturdays in December – but while we will try to run as many services as possible, there will inevitably be significant disruption.”

The strike coincides with many Christmas markets across the country, as well as other events and some football matches.

Passengers planning to travel with CrossCountry on Saturday, 6 December should check their journey before traveling with National Rail Enquiries, or visit the CrossCountry website/app for the latest news and advice: www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-information/disruption/industrial-action

Information on delay repay and alternative travel options are available at the same link.

The RMT has also announced further industrial action on Saturday, 13, Saturday, 20, and Saturday, 27 December. More detail on the impact of future strikes will be shared in coming days.