Limited services for a whole week and no services at all on specific days as train drivers stage latest industrial action

Key rail routes through Enfield borough will again be severely affected by striking train drivers at the end of January and beginning of February.

The Aslef union will stage a series of consecutive one-day strikes across different train operating companies between 30th January and 5th February, as well as an overtime ban across all train companies from Monday, 29th January to Tuesday, 6th February, which may lead to short-notice cancellations.

Train drivers for Great Northern and Thameslink – both run by operator Govia Thameslink – will be striking on Tuesday, 30th January. It means no trains will be stopping on this day at Crews Hill, Gordon Hill, Enfield Chase, Grange Park, Winchmore Hill and Palmers Green stations on the Hertford Loop Line, nor at Hadley Wood and New Southgate on the East Coast Main Line.

Drivers for Greater Anglia, serving stations in the east of the borough, will be striking on Friday, 2nd February. It means no trains will be stopping on this day at Enfield Lock, Brimsdown, Ponders End and Meridian Water stations on the West Anglia Main Line.

On other days, timetables may be amended and services could be cancelled at short notice. Passengers are advised to always check before they travel.

Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan has defended the walkouts and said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.

“Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living.”

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail operators, said: “There are no winners from these strikes that will unfortunately cause disruption for our customers. We believe rail can have a bright future, but right now taxpayers are contributing an extra £54m a week to keep services running post-Covid.

“Aslef’s leadership need to recognise the financial challenge facing rail. Drivers have been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly £65,000 for a four-day week before overtime – that is well above the national average and significantly more than many of our customers that have no option to work from home are paid.

“Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable.”

Transport for London services, including London Overground, are not impacted by this latest round of strikes but trains will be busier as a result.

For more information about Greater Anglia services during the strikes:
Visit greateranglia.co.uk/strikes

For more information about Great Northern and Thameslink services during the strikes:
Visit thameslinkrailway.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/industrial-action

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