Southern strikes and major rail work: Date, time and everything you need to know about upcoming London travel

Rail problems: London Bridge during the latest Southern Rail strike.
Victoria Jones/PA
Francesca Gillett16 December 2016

Londoners were hit with one of the worst rail strikes in a generation this week as services were crippled in a major walkout by Southern Rail staff.

But the travel chaos which left miserable commuters struggling to get to work looks set to continue with further strikes planned in the lead-up to Christmas and over the New Year.

Passengers are also being warned to plan ahead as major maintenance work over the festive season will cause disruption at some of London’s busiest stations.

Here’s what you need to know about travelling in London over the next few weeks.

When are the strikes happening?

The next Southern Rail strike is a 24-hour walkout on Friday, December 16 by drivers at ASLEF and RMT unions.

The following week a second strike will be staged by RMT conductors on Monday, December 19 and Tuesday, December 20. This is expected to cause less disruption than the previous weeks' drivers' strike.

Passengers walk down an empty platform during a Southern Rail drivers strike in Victoria station this week.
Olver Will/EPA

Over the New Year, a conductors' walkout by the RMT will run from Saturday, December 31 to Monday, January 2.

And the start of 2017 is likely to bring travel misery for commuters with a six-day drivers’ strike planned from Monday, January 9 to Saturday, January 14. Severe disruption is expected if the strike goes ahead.

Which routes are affected?

Southern Rail said all services and their Gatwick Express route will be affected every day the strikes take place.

For the drivers’ strikes – which will take place over six days in January – Southern is urging passengers not to travel at all.

Southern Rail strike: December 2016

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Next week’s strike, on Monday and Tuesday, will see a reduced service across the majority of services as well as no services on some journeys including between Clapham Junction and Milton Keynes and Guildford and Leatherhead.

Revised timetables have been drawn up on many Southern train and bus timetables, including between London and Brighton, London Victoria and Chichester, London Bridge and East Grinstead, London and Horsham, Redhill and Reigate and Redhill and Tonbridge.

Why are the strikes happening?

The long-running dispute between the RMT union and Govia Thameslink Railway – Southern’s parent company – is over plans to give drivers sole responsibility for opening train doors.

Drivers’ union Aslef then announced strikes over the same issue, protesting at the “safety risks” that driver-only trains pose.

Southern Rail did unsuccessfully seek a High Court injunction to halt this week’s wave of strikes.

East Croydon station during the strikes.
Jeremy Selwyn

Boss of Southern Alex Foulds called the industrial action a “co-ordinated and cynical manoeuvre by the unions” to bring travel misery to passengers.

But Mick Whelan, leader of Aslef, said the company has not been prepared to negotiate.

What about rail engineering works?

Those who might have managed to avoid the majority of the Southern Rail chaos might need to plan to avoid disruption from maintenance work over the festive season.

Paddington, Liverpool Street and London Bridge will be effectivel closed for nearly all of the holiday period.

No trains will run to or from Paddington between December 24 and 29 with passengers forced to pick up services from Ealing Broadway instead. From December 29 to January 3 trains will run from Paddington but on a reduced timetable.

Heathrow Express services will also be suspended from December 24 to 29 and reduced on later days.

At Liverpool Street, there will be no trains arriving or leaving between December 24 and January 2 while improvement work is carried out.

Southeastern trains services from London Bridge and Charing Cross will be cancelled from December 24 to 28 – apart from the Hastings service – because of work at New Cross for the Thameslink programme.

Waterloo and Cannon Street stations are also likely to suffer disruption.

Why is the rail work happening?

The boss of Network Rail said work is being undertaken to complete the Crossrail and Thameslink projects.

It is the biggest programme of work ever undertaken by National Rail with 24,000 maintenance staff laying new track and signals at 200 projects across the country from Christmas Eve.

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