Published May 20, 2026 4:04pm
Updated May 20, 2026 4:51pm
Passengers have been urged to avoid travel to and from Euston on Friday and Saturday due to a rail strike, which is set to impact journeys.
Strikes have been on everyone’s lips after an RMT union walkout affecting TfL Tube drivers was called off at the eleventh hour.
But another strike affecting West Midlands Railway services and London Northwestern Railway this weekend is still on the cards.
Scroll on to see how the TSSA strike will impact journeys, and what stations and operators are affected.
When is the railway strike happening?
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 has said.
No trains will run after 7pm on Friday, or before 7am on Saturday.
London Northwestern Railway schedule this weekend
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.
???? Reminder of Industrial Action 22-23rd May.⚠️ TSSA industrial action will take place on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 May.???? Our advice is to avoid travel on these days where possible.???? All information is on our website: https://t.co/ToeFxvUmpG pic.twitter.com/Sian860GuC
— London Northwestern Railway (@LNRailway) May 19, 2026
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
Trains on the network will be limited on Friday and Saturday.
One train will run every hour between Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, 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, all 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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