Rail strikes: How Sussex will be affected by three days of walkouts

More than 50,000 railway workers are expected to walkout on Tuesday June 21, Thursday June 23 and Saturday June 25 across Network Rail and 13 train operating companies.

The RMT union says its members have faced multi-year pay freezes, while plans to cut thousands of jobs would make the country’s railways unsafe.

Staff at Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Southern and Thameslink services, were one of the only companies not to back strike action, instead voting for industrial action ‘short of a strike’.

However as the railway network is dependent on Network Rail staff to operate, the strikes are still expected to have an impact on services across Sussex.

Workers at Southeastern have voted in favour of a strike and its website says: “We’re working hard to understand what level of service we can run on these days, but we expect significant disruption across our network. Most of our stations and routes will be closed and we will only be able to run a severely reduced service.”

Angie Doll, Chief Operating Officer, Govia Thameslink Railway, said:

“We are extremely disappointed that passengers across the country now face the anxiety of rail disruption just as we are starting to recover from the pandemic. We urge the RMT to work with Network Rail and train operators to seek a swift resolution.

“Although RMT members at GTR voted only for action short of a strike, unfortunately we do expect our services to be very severely disrupted because of strike action affecting Network Rail and other train operators.

“We depend on Network Rail signallers and engineers to keep our trains moving, and our services connect with many lines and stations managed by other operators whose staff are taking action.

“We will provide more detailed passenger advice and information in the coming days.”

Angie Doll, chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “We are extremely disappointed that passengers across the country now face the anxiety of rail disruption just as we are starting to recover from the pandemic. We urge the RMT to work with Network Rail and train operators to seek a swift resolution.

“Although RMT members at GTR voted only for action short of a strike, unfortunately we do expect our services to be very severely disrupted because of strike action affecting Network Rail and other train operators.

“We depend on Network Rail signallers and engineers to keep our trains moving, and our services connect with many lines and stations managed by other operators whose staff are taking action.

“We will provide more detailed passenger advice and information in the coming days.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.

"We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1 per cent and rising.

"Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.”