Uk And Us Warned Of New Travel Disruptions Over Bank Holiday Weekend Due To Crosscountry Rail Strike

Published on August 21, 2025

Travellers are being advised of potential disruptions to services across nan UK owed to a onslaught by workers astatine CrossCountry. Members of nan Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) national will prosecute successful business action complete nan upcoming bank vacation weekend, on Saturday, August 23, and Monday, August 25. This disruption is expected to origin important challenges for passengers relying connected train services during 1 of nan busiest recreation periods of nan year.

Strike Details and Impact connected Services
CrossCountry has confirmed that no services will run connected Saturday, August 23, and that a reduced timetable will beryllium successful effect for nan remainder of nan weekend. While location will beryllium immoderate train services connected Sunday, August 24, these will apt face cancellations across each routes. Passengers readying to recreation complete nan slope vacation play person been powerfully advised not to travel on Saturday, August 23, and to see walking either earlier aliases aft nan vacation period. The institution has offered a afloat refund to those who take to cancel their trips.

For those who still request to recreation on Monday, August 25, a very constricted service will tally between 8 americium and 6 pm. Passengers intending to recreation connected that time are encouraged to check their journeys beforehand and hole for crowded conditions, arsenic nan work will beryllium importantly reduced. Furthermore, location will be no CrossCountry service between cardinal locations specified as Birmingham, Reading, and the South Coast, nor between Leicester, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport. Services to the South West and north of York will besides beryllium highly limited.

Additional disruptions are expected on Monday due to planned engineering works in the West Midlands, which will further effect nan services that are running. Some journeys whitethorn be delayed due to these works, perchance causing moreover longer recreation times for passengers.

Response from CrossCountry
Shiona Rolfe, the Managing Director of CrossCountry, expressed disappointment complete nan situation. She acknowledged nan inconvenience that the strike would origin for passengers, peculiarly since nary services would beryllium moving on Saturday. Rolfe stressed nan company’s committedness to resolving nan conflict and expressed dream for further negotiations pinch the RMT union. CrossCountry besides assured passengers that efforts were being made to minimize disruption and connection replacement recreation options wherever possible.

The institution emphasized that they would proceed to run arsenic champion arsenic imaginable nether nan circumstances, with limited services available connected Monday and basal accusation regarding nan changes to beryllium posted connected their website up of time.

Union’s Position connected nan Strike
The RMT union, which represents workers astatine CrossCountry, stated that its members had voted powerfully successful favor of business action successful consequence to ongoing disputes. The national has claimed that CrossCountry has grounded to grant respective cardinal agreements concerning staffing, safety, and pay. These issues person reportedly led to nan union’s determination to return business action, pinch a spokesperson for nan national confirming that talks would proceed successful hopes of reaching a negotiated settlement.

Although nan onslaught is judge to origin disruption, nan national emphasized its committedness to addressing its concerns through further dialogue with nan company’s management.

Alternative Travel Options pinch National Express
In ray of the rail disruptions, National Express has announced that it will beryllium boosting its capacity for intercity services across the bank vacation weekend. The coach usability is adding an additional 9,000 seats on routes connecting awesome cities, including Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, London, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Swansea, and Wolverhampton. National Express intends to thief alleviate immoderate of nan unit from the rail disruptions by providing passengers pinch an replacement mode of travel.

While National Express is expected to spot a surge successful demand, nan added capacity whitethorn connection alleviation to immoderate obstruction passengers affected by nan strike. Travelers are advised to book tickets successful advance, arsenic nan further seats are expected to capable up quickly.

Travel Tips for nan Bank Holiday Weekend
With both rail and road travel expected to beryllium impacted by nan ongoing strike, Nicky Kelvin, Editor astatine Large for The Points Guy, has shared several practical tips to thief travelers navigate nan weekend. He emphasized that passengers should always check their recreation routes and timetables up of time. This tin beryllium done either done nan train operator’s charismatic website aliases by utilizing recreation platforms like Trainline.com or National Rail to enactment up to day connected immoderate work changes.

Kelvin besides suggested that passengers utilize social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to enactment informed astir real-time recreation updates from different passengers. This tin beryllium peculiarly useful successful identifying immoderate last-minute disruptions that whitethorn not beryllium reflected connected charismatic websites.

As the August Bank Holiday is a popular time for travel, Kelvin recommended avoiding highest recreation times whenever possible. He advised that travelers who are heading retired by roadworthy should group off early to avoid dense traffic and congestion, ensuring a smoother journey.

For those opting for road travel, he stressed nan value of readying for imaginable delays owed to accrued traffic. Travelers should allow other time for their journeys to debar unnecessary accent and frustration.

Prepare for a Challenging Bank Holiday Weekend
With train services affected by the strike and engineering works, travelers are encouraged to make replacement plans up of the bank vacation weekend. CrossCountry has warned that disruptions will beryllium widespread, and passengers should return nan basal steps to cheque their travel specifications and see alternate modes of transport.

The ongoing business action highlights nan challenges faced by both transport operators and workers, pinch nan RMT national seeking further speech to resoluteness its disputes. In nan meantime, National Express offers further coach services to thief mitigate nan effects of nan obstruction strike. By preparing early and seeking replacement recreation options, passengers tin trim nan effect of these disruptions and person a smoother acquisition complete nan busy bank vacation weekend.