Train strike: The railway lines with fewer services this week as drivers stage latest walkout

Strike action has been announced by the ASLEF Union and RMT Union to be held on Wednesday and Thursday at different operators, while drivers are also banning overtime until Saturday which is also causing disruption.

Passengers are being urged to check before attempting to travel by train this week, while the dispute is now the longest ever in the rail industry.

There will be no rail services in the region on Wednesday, with services by Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway all not operating at all, and limited services across the rest of the week.

Today, the Birmingham to Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton to Rugeley via Birmingham and Walsall, Cross City Lines and Snow Hill Lines also have reduced services.

For services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, the 1.40pm, 6.40pm, 9.40pm and 10.40pm trains will not operate, while the 2.56pm, 4.56pm, 5.26pm, 6.10pm, 8.04pm and 10.56pm services between Birmingham and Shrewsbury will not operate.

A large number of services are not running between the various stops of Wolverhampton and Rugeley.

The 11.22pm service between Birmingham New Street and Rugeley will not run, nor will the 4pm service from Birmingham New Street to Walsall or the 5.48pm and 8.18pm services between Wolverhampton and Walsall.

Additionally, the 10.48pm service from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street will not run, while the 4.37pm, 7.07pm and 9.37pm services from Walsall to Wolverhampton are cancelled, as are the 10.33pm, 11.31pm and 12.02am services from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton.

Across the Cross City Line towards Lichfield, services may be shorter than usual, with passengers urged to travel at quieter times if possible, while the 4.09pm service between Lichfield and Birmingham New Street and 3.06pm service between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield are both cancelled.

Finally, on the Snow Hill Lines, the 2.24pm and 5.24pm services between Kidderminster and Whitlocks End have been cancelled, as have the 12.47pm, 1.47pm and 3.47pm services between Whitlocks End and Kidderminster.

Other services from Kidderminster have also been cancelled, including the 3.24pm and 7.54pm to Birmingham Snow Hill and the 4.35pm service to Stratford Upon Avon.

After no services running at all on Wednesday, there will be a limited return of services on Thursday and Friday, with some trains not operating.

For services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, the 7.10am, 6.40pm, 9.40pm and 10.40pm trains will not operate, while the 5.56am, 5.26pm, 8.04pm and 10.56pm services between Birmingham and Shrewsbury will not operate.

Again, the 11.22pm service between Birmingham New Street and Rugeley will not run, with these cancellations applying on both days.

There is a glimmer of hope that negotiations will start in a bid to resolve the row after the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) invited Aslef to talks about exploring any common ground which could break the deadlock.

No formal talks between the operators and the union have been held for a year and for longer involving a transport minister.

Aslef said its members have not had a pay rise for five years and has accused the Government of "giving up" trying to resolve the dispute.

A spokesman for the RDG said: "The rail industry is working hard to keep trains running but it is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between May 7 and May 9 because many trains will not be in the right depots to start services the following day.

"We can only apologise to our customers for this wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership which will sadly disrupt journeys once again.

"It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £54 million a week in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The Transport Secretary and rail minister have already facilitated a pay offer that would take train drivers' average salaries up to £65,000 - almost twice the UK average salary.

"Aslef are the only union left striking after the Government oversaw deals with all the other unions.

"Instead of causing passengers disruption, they should put this offer to their members and work with industry to end this dispute."

National Express is providing thousands of extra seats during this week to deal with increased demand during strikes by train drivers.

The coach operator announced an additional 7,500 seats on its most popular routes.

National Express said 19 million people had travelled on its coach network in 2023, a 25 per cent increase on 2022.

Since the rail strikes began in June 2022, National Express has recorded around 1.3 million new passengers travelling on its services on industrial action days during rail strike days.

John Boughton, commercial director for National Express, said: "The rail strikes have been a fantastic opportunity for us to highlight just how good our coach services are, especially to those who may not have considered travelling with us before.

"People are making the switch because we're reliable, great value and they're guaranteed a seat. That makes us very attractive compared to the train.

"With significant investment in our services and improvements to the customer experience, we are making it even easier for people to travel without having to worry about unaffordable fares or constantly wondering if the trains are running."