Commuters braced for next round of rail strikes

The three main rail operators in Shropshire say the planned strikes by the RMT Union later this month, combined with an overtime ban by the train driver's union ASLEF, will see disruption and cancellations to some services in the county.

The RMT Union have announced three days of strike action to affect 14 train operating companies this month on Thursday, July 20; Saturday, July 22 and Saturday, July 29.

The train drivers' union ASLEF has also announced a ban on overtime from Monday, July 17 to Saturday, July 22, which rail operators say may lead to further disruption to services.

During the period actual of strike action, Avanti West Coast say there will be "significantly reduced" services.

A spokesperson said: "Customers should expect our timetable and operating hours to be reduced significantly, and note that services that do run are expected to be very busy.

"With each strike day, late services the night before and early services the next day will also be affected. We recommend you check your entire journey before you travel, especially the first and last trains on strike days."

West Midlands Railway, which has train serving the Shrewsbury to Birmingham line has warned of cancellations on strike days and that any services that do operate will only run between 7.00am and 7pm.

The rail operator has also warned of "some alterations" in the day immediately following industrial action.

While Transport for Wales (TfW) is not involved in the industrial action, the rail operator has also warned that some of its services are likely to be affected due to the reduced timetable put in place by other operators.

Nearly all of TfW services will run as timetabled, but certain routes such as Carmarthen to Newport, North Wales to Manchester and Shrewsbury to Birmingham International are expected to be busier than normal.

Commuters are being asked to check the rail operators' websites before they travel on any day when industrial action is planned.