Train operators have announced reduced services and warned of "severe disruption" to passengers due to planned strike action this week
Rail users across the county will be severely affected by the industrial action tomorrow, Thursday (June 23) and Saturday (June 25) by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).
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In Oxfordshire, Great Western Railway (GWR), Chiltern and Cross Country will all be impacted.
Great Western Railway (GWR):
GWR has warned of "severe disruption" and urged people only travel by rail if absolutely necessary, due to limited availability of staff.
GWR said there would be a limited service between Oxford, London and the south west on strike days but no services beyond Oxford to the north and west.
Due to the timing of the strike action, services in between strike days will also be affected.
GWR services on strike days:
GWR services in-between strike days:
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: "We very much welcome the opportunity to continue to talk with the RMT to avert strike action.
"Any strike will impact on customers' journeys and can only damage the post-Covid recovery everyone at GWR has been working to win back, while at the same time making it more difficult to deliver the changes we need to secure jobs and services for the future.
"I'm hopeful the RMT will step back, however colleagues have been working hard to put contingency plans in place and give certainty to customers who need to travel.
"The priority will be to keep trains running and customers moving safely, but changes will be needed to allow that to happen and customers may wish to alter their plans."
Chiltern:
Chiltern Railways also warned of massive disruption, saying: "The service will be extremely limited from Tuesday to Saturday.”
It said there would be only one train per hour in either direction between London and Banbury and no trains in each direction between London and Oxford.
The expected service pattern for Chiltern:
- Between Banbury - Birmingham: No trains in either direction
- Between London - Banbury: One train per hour in each direction
- Between London - Oxford: No trains in either direction
- Between London - Aylesbury via High Wycombe: One train per hour in each direction
- Between Aylesbury - Amersham: One train per hour in each direction (except Tuesday 21st June when there will be no service on this route)
- Between London – Aylesbury via Amersham (Metropolitan line): No trains in either direction.
The strike coincides with planned weekday Network Rail engineering work outside Birmingham Moor Street from today to Thursday. The works are going ahead, further hitting services in the West Midlands.
On strike days, services will start much later and finish much earlier than normal. Services will start from around 7.30am, with morning trains not arriving in London until after 9am.
In the afternoon, the last trains will be much earlier than normal, with the last trains from Marylebone running at 3.10pm to Banbury and 4.10pm to Bicester North.
Cross Country:
Cross Country will also run a significantly reduced service on all the strike days. Trains from Manchester to Bournemouth via Banbury and Oxford will only run as far as Southampton.
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Read more from this author
This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.
You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry
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