Christmas trains blackout in Lincolnshire as latest rail strikes begin

Lincolnshire is will see minimal rail services through the Christmas holidays as trade unions started the latest round of strike action.

The latest strikes called by the RMT, Unite the Union and TSSA Unions will see ongoing industrial action on the railways from Tuesday, December 13 to January 7 next year.

The ongoing rail dispute regarding pay and conditions for workers has seen trade unions, the government and industry bosses at loggerheads for almost the entirety of 2022.

It will involve around 40,000 rail workers this week, after the RMT rejected a fresh pay offer of 5% this year and 4% for 2023 from Network Rail.

This is an offer that the RMT’s general secretary Mick Lynch called “substandard”, as union members voted to reject the terms.

Service changes are likely to be at different times throughout the strike period rather than a consistent halt of the rail sector, and the two main train operators to organise services in and around Lincolnshire are among the most affected by this action.

London North Eastern Railway have just one service from Lincoln to London King’s Cross on Christmas Eve, departing from Lincoln Central at 8.26am, while East Midlands Railway can provide no trains on its routes for December 24.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day services on EMR and LNER will not operate, but this is normal practice for the train provider with or without strike action.

As for before Christmas, LNER is unable to offer any Lincoln services on Tuesday, December 13 or Wednesday, December 14, with a one-day break in play on the Thursday before timetables collapse again on the Friday and Saturday.

The week of Christmas will see regular LNER services through Lincoln up until Christmas Eve, before more frequent timetables return on December 27 through to the new year.

On strike days EMR services will run between the hours of 7.30am – 6.30pm only. Services will start later and finish earlier than usual with the last departures starting between 3pm and 4.30pm.

However, on Lincolnshire’s EMR routes there will be a complete shutdown between December 13 and 16 due to the industrial action.

East Midlands Railway predicts a “normal timetable” will return between December 19 and 21, but warns passengers to expect short notice cancellations. Journey planners for these dates will be uploaded on Thursday, December 15 and can be accessed via the EMR website.

Will Rogers, Managing Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “Due to industrial action our services will be significantly impacted in the next four weeks.

“Regrettably, we won’t be able to run any services on Christmas Eve and throughout the strike period different parts of our network will be significantly affected – while services that are operating will likely be extremely busy.

“It is a complicated picture due to the way each union affects us and therefore we are strongly urging customers to visit our website before planning a journey to understand what services are running.

“Customers should only travel if its absolutely necessary and they should leave extra time for disruption and short notice changes.”

If your festive plans have been affected by the train strikes and you want to share your experience, or alternatively you are a rail worker taking part in strike action and want to tell your side of the story – feel free to email [email protected].

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