This little-known rail strike could disrupt travel from London over the weekend

Interior view of the main concourse full of commuters and people travelling from Euston Railway Station on 25th February 2026 in London, United Kingdom. Euston is a central London railway terminus and mainline station in central London, managed by Network Rail. The station is the fifth-busiest station in Britain and the countrys busiest inter-city passenger terminal, providing a gateway from London to the North. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
A two-day rail strike will bring disruption on routes to and from London, and Birmingham New Street (Picture: In Pictures/Getty Images)

Passengers have been urged to avoid travel to and from Euston on Friday and Saturday due to a railway strike, which will hamper journeys.

Strikes have been on everyone’s lips since another Tube drivers’ walkout loomed this month before it was postponed.

Meanwhile, a dispute on the railways has boiled over into a strike, affecting West Midlands Railway services and London Northwestern Railway this weekend.

Scroll on to see how the TSSA strike will impact journeys, and what stations and operators are affected.

When is the railway strike happening?

Interior of train timetables of Grand Central Station, aka Birmingham New Street Station in Birmingham city centre on 21st March 2024 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
West Midlands Railways services to and from Birmingham New Street will be reduced while some routes will have no trains on Friday and Saturday (Picture: In Pictures/Getty Images)

The walkout will happen on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23.

Passengers should brace for a severely reduced timetable on both days.

People should only travel if necessary as only a small number of trains will run, National Rail said.

No trains will run after 7pm on Friday, or before 7am on Saturday, it warned.

London Northwestern Railway schedule this weekend

Interior view of commuters and people travelling from Euston Railway Station passing from the mainline station into the underground on 7th April 2026 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Services from London Euston will be heavily disrupted over the weekend (Credits: In Pictures via Getty Images)

On Friday and Saturday, there will be no trains between London Euston and Crewe, Bedford Bletchley, St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction, and between Stafford and Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent.

One train per hour will run between London Euston via Northampton and Birmingham New Street, Northampton and Euston, and Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street.

West Midlands Railway

Empty train tracks leading from Grand Central Station, aka Birmingham New Street Station with the iconic Rotunda tower in Birmingham city centre on 21st March 2024 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
You’ll want to check your options if you’re set to travel from Birmingham New Street over the weekend (Credits: In Pictures via Getty Images)

Trains on the network will be limited on Friday and Saturday.

One train will run every hour between Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Walsall, and Rugeley Trent Valley via Birmingham International Airport.

There will be two trains per hour between Birmingham, Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch-Bromsgrove.

Meanwhile, no trains will operate on any other West Midlands Route, including the Shrewsbury and Hereford lines, and between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.

Why is the rail strike going ahead?

The dispute between the TSSA union and West Midlands Trains, the parent company of London Northwestern Railway, boils down to rest day working payments.

The union said its members should be treated in line with other unions when it comes to rest day pay.

After a stalemate, TSSA’s members who work as crew managers, control staff and roster clerks voted to walk out.

Maryam Eslamdoust, TSSA’s general secretary, said: ‘As things stand these strikes will go ahead as planned because the company is simply refusing to give our members parity with those in other unions.  

‘That is an intolerable situation, especially given the fact these are modest demands.’

She said it is now up to the company to stop the walkouts, and that it remains open to further negotiations.

Ian McConnell, LNR managing director, said: ‘We encourage TSSA to continue talks with us to reach a resolution to this dispute. This strike action will cause disruption to our customers with a significantly reduced timetable in operation on both dates.

‘We are doing all we can to minimise the impact as far as possible and apologise to customers for the inconvenience.

‘However, where services are running, we advise customers to only travel if necessary and to allow more time for their journey.’

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