We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers that our train service will be severely impacted throughout the four-week period of industrial action by the RMT union. This is not the service you have come to expect from Chiltern Railways, and we apologise for the impact this will have on you, particularly at this time of year.
We have had to take this difficult decision because of the cumulative impact of RMT strikes and a ban on overtime on our ability to have trains maintained and prepared for service at our depots. The RMT overtime ban has put immense pressure on our train maintenance depots and this has resulted in us having to offer a reduced service throughout the whole period of industrial action and the day after the action ends.
We understand the impact that this will have on our customers across the Chiltern network and in particular those communities we are unable to serve in the north of our route. The Chiltern Railways team is working incredibly hard to explore all options available to us to limit the impact of the constraints that will be in place. However, we anticipate the need to change or cancel services at very late notice. We undertake to give you the maximum notice possible, and you can find the latest information on our industrial action page.
Once again, we would like to apologise on behalf of Chiltern Railways for the difficulties, inconvenience, and changed plans that this level of service will cause over the festive holidays to our customers.
FAQS
- Why are services starting later and finishing early on days when there are no strikes?
- Industrial action is causing disruption to Chiltern Railways services throughout the entire period. The RMT have called eight days of strikes, but between 18 December and 2 January they have also called for an overtime ban for union members.
The overtime ban has put immense pressure on our train maintenance depots, and this has resulted in us having to offer a reduced service throughout the whole period of industrial action and the day after the action ends. In particular, we are unable to provide enough trains to run a service on Sunday 18 December and will instead use that time to service and fuel trains for Monday 19 December onwards.
- Industrial action is causing disruption to Chiltern Railways services throughout the entire period. The RMT have called eight days of strikes, but between 18 December and 2 January they have also called for an overtime ban for union members.
- Why can’t Chiltern run its normal timetable during this industrial action?
- We have had to take this difficult decision because of the cumulative impact of RMT strikes and a ban on overtime on our ability to have trains maintained and prepared for service at our depots.
- Why are other TOCs able to run a near-normal timetable and Chiltern aren’t?
- Chiltern maintains all its trains at its own depots – some train companies have their trains maintained by third party providers who are not affected by strike action - and this means RMT strike action this week has severely reduced staffing levels at Chiltern’s train maintenance depots. As a result, we are unable to provide enough trains to run our normal timetable.
- Why are there no trains between Banbury and Birmingham?
- We have taken the difficult decision to not run trains north of Banbury. However, from Banbury customers are able to connect to CrossCountry services for connections to Leamington Spa and Birmingham. Chiltern Railways will also be running a rail replacement bus service between Banbury and Dorridge stations connecting into West Midlands Trains services. Journeys will take longer than they usually would and we regret the inconvenience that this round of industrial action has created.
- Why aren’t you running services to Oxford?
- We have decided to not run trains between Oxford Parkway and Oxford in order to reduce the amount of resource, both trains and staff, required to fulfil our timetable in a reliable way. From Oxford Parkway customers are able to connect to regular buses operating into Oxford City Centre (separate fares apply) .Where possible, we have focused our limited available resource in order to run a rail service on those parts of our network where customers have no alternative operator.
- Why aren’t you calling at the Inner London stations?
- During this period we will be running fewer, but longer trains. This means that trains will be too long to call at the Inner London stations on our route. Customers are advised to use Transport for London (TfL) services. We have focused our limited available resource in order to run a rail service on those parts of our network where customers have no alternative operator.
- Will I be able to buy an Advance ticket to travel on the affected days?
- No, we will not be reinstating the sale of Advance tickets on the strike days affected by the industrial action/special timetables.
- I’ve bought a ticket, but my train has been cancelled – can I get a refund?
- Yes, refunds are available at the original point of sale if you did not use your ticket. Monthly or longer Season ticket holders who did not travel can claim Delay Repay if they did not travel as a result of the disruption between 13 December and 19 January (excluding 25 and 26 December). If you travelled and experienced a delay of more than 15 minutes, you may also claim Delay Repay. This applies for strike days as well as the non-strike days that are impacted by industrial action.
- Will there still be cancellations, shortforms during this time?
- It is likely that some services will be subject to cancellation. Where possible we will endeavour to give our customers 48-hours notice should their train be cancelled, but this will not always be possible.
- When will the timetable return to normal?
- We anticipate that our timetable will return to normal from 10 January. However, this is subject to no further industrial action being called. After a long period where trains have been shut down and unused it will take time to get the trains in the right position and fully serviced ready for operation (on the 10 January).
- Do customers still need to buy a ticket?
- Yes. However, customers whose train has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled are eligible for compensation. Customers with season tickets can claim 100% compensation for days impacted by industrial action through Delay Repay.
- What action have you undertaken to minimise the disruption that this timetable will cause for people north of Banbury?
- We have developed our timetable in coordination with CrossCountry and WMT, so that the region will continue to have rail travel options both north to Birmingham and south to London; however journeys will take longer than they do at present and we regret the inconvenience that this round of industrial action has created.