{"id":587513,"date":"2025-11-22T21:38:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587513\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T21:38:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:38:36","slug":"uk-set-for-christmas-travel-chaos-as-rail-strikes-announced-full-list-of-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587513\/","title":{"rendered":"UK set for Christmas travel chaos as rail strikes announced &#8211; full list of dates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Major rail strikes have been planned on four December dates<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763847515_813_0_Industrial-strike.jpg\" alt=\"Information boards at New Street station in Birmingham state that due to industrial action no departures are shceduled\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>The RMT union has announced rail strikes for December(Image: PA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">Travellers are set to face disruption over Christmas after rail workers announced a series of strikes throughout December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">The Rail, Maritime and Transport RMT union announced on Friday (November 21) that its <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/news\/greater-manchester-news\/train-company-issues-warning-passengers-32698903\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">CrossCountry members will walk out<\/a> over pay and staffing disputes on multiple Saturdays next month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">The union said it comes after a proposal by the rail company which was described as &#8220;worse than what was already on the table&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">CrossCountry serves more than 100 stations across the UK. Based in Birmingham, the network connects seven of Britain&#8217;s 10 largest cities, including Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, with more than 42 million passengers every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">Workers on Cross Country services are striking over <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/cross-country-train-drivers-strike-32413939\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">long-running disputes over pay, staffing<\/a> and &#8220;broken commitments&#8221;, the RMT union said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: &#8220;Cross Country has not dealt with the core issues in this dispute and has come back with a proposal that is worse than what was already on the table.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_CrossCountry-industrial-action.jpg\" alt=\"CrossCountry train at Leeds train station\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>CrossCountry trains connect major UK cities(Image: PA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">&#8220;Our members are still facing unresolved staffing shortages, unfair pay outcomes and broken commitments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">&#8220;RMT members have been left with no choice but to take strike action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">&#8220;The company must return with a serious offer that meets the commitments it has already made and treats our members with the fairness and respect they deserve.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">Shiona Rolfe, managing director at CrossCountry, said: &#8220;We are disappointed for our customers that the RMT has announced further industrial action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">&#8220;We&#8217;ve worked hard to make a fair and reasonable offer that addresses the key points raised in this dispute, and we&#8217;ve made meaningful progress in negotiations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">&#8220;Our priority remains reaching an agreement that avoids disruption for passengers in the busy <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/christmas\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Christmas<\/a> period, and we are ready to continue talks at any time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">CrossCountry is yet to confirm how the strike will impact services, but it is expected that trains will be cancelled and a limited timetable will be running.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">Other train services will also be disrupted over the festive period due to essential engineering works across Network Rail, so passengers are advised to check their journey ahead of time.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">List of December dates impacted by strikes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">The strikes will happen on Saturday&#8217;s throughout December, but will not take place on any Christmas public holidays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"men\">The CrossCountry industrial dates are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"UnorderedList_unordered-list__gzblI\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"unordered-list\" publication=\"men\">\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\">Saturday, December 6<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\">Saturday, December 13<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\">Saturday, December 20<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\">Saturday, December 27<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Major rail strikes have been planned on four December datesThe RMT union has announced rail strikes for December(Image:&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,35745,393,4884,603,1620,7857,183,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-587513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-christmas","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-national-news","13":"tag-sheffield","14":"tag-trains","15":"tag-travel","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115595517960064156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}