The festive season is upon us, but things are not looking cheery on the railways. The RMT is holding a series of 48 hour strikes in December and January, with industrial action short of a strike on other days. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the dispute, the situation is pretty bleak for passengers. Here we set out what to expect on the different days.
Summary
Here is a summary of the action taking place on each day. See below for details of what this means for services.
| Tuesday 13 December 2022 | RMT strike day |
| Wednesday 14 December 2022 | RMT strike day |
| Thursday 15 December 2022 | Day following an RMT strike |
| Friday 16 December 2022 | RMT strike day |
| Saturday 17 December 2022 | RMT strike day |
| Sunday 18 December 2022 | Day following an RMT strike / RMT overtime ban |
| Monday 19 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Tuesday 20 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Wednesday 21 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Thursday 22 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Friday 23 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Saturday 24 December 2022 | Partial RMT strike day / RMT overtime ban |
| Sunday 25 December 2022 | No service (Christmas Day) |
| Monday 26 December 2022 | No service (Boxing Day) |
| Tuesday 27 December 2022 | Partial RMT strike day / RMT overtime ban |
| Wednesday 28 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Thursday 29 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Friday 30 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Saturday 31 December 2022 | RMT overtime ban |
| Sunday 1 January 2023 | RMT overtime ban |
| Monday 2 January 2023 | RMT overtime ban |
| Tuesday 3 January 2023 | RMT strike day |
| Wednesday 4 January 2023 | RMT strike day |
| Thursday 5 January 2023 | ASLEF strike day |
| Friday 6 January 2023 | RMT strike day |
| Saturday 7 January 2023 | RMT strike day |
| Sunday 8 January 2023 | Day following an RMT strike |
| Monday 9 January 2023 | Normal service |
RMT strike days
A series of 48 hours strikes will directly impact services on the following days:
- Tuesday 13 December 2022
- Wednesday 14 December 2022
- Friday 16 December 2022
- Saturday 17 December 2022
- Tuesday 3 January 2023
- Wednesday 4 January 2023
- Friday 6 January 2023
- Saturday 7 January 2023
There will no train services at Tonbridge on these days. The nearest train service runs from Sevenoaks. This is a half hourly service between Sevenoaks and London Bridge, with the first train from Sevenoaks at 07:40 and then last train back from London Bridge at 17:16. We have continued to ask for Sevenoaks services to be extended to Tonbridge but we have again been ignored.
Southern is only running services on a small number of core routes and it will not be running any services on the Tonbridge-Redhill line.
ASLEF strike day
On Thursday 5 January 2023 there will be an ASLEF train drivers’ strike. Unlike previous ASLEF strikes, this will affect Southern as well as Southeastern and neither company will be running any trains that day. There will therefore be no trains running from Tonbridge or from any of the other stations we represent.
Days following an RMT strike
On days following an RMT strike (excluding 5 January, when there is an ASLEF strike) services will run but will start late, with no trains running before 07:00. This affects the following days:
- Thursday 15 December 2022
- Sunday 18 December 2022
- Sunday 8 January 2023
Exact times are expected to be on online journey planners a few days before the day concerned – see Southeastern’s strike page for details of when their services will be confirmed in the journey planner.
Partial RMT strike days
The RMT has also called a strike over Christmas itself. This affects Network Rail engineering works, but has an impact on the following days around Christmas:
- Saturday 24 December – the Southeastern and Southern networks will completely shut down by 15:00 with some last trains leaving as early as 12:00.
- Monday 27 December – no Southeastern or Southern trains will run before about 12:00
RMT overtime ban
In addition, the RMT has called an overtime ban between Sunday 18 December and Monday 2 January inclusive, covering the entire period between the main sets of 48 hour strikes. Southeastern says there may be “short notice cancellations and some trains not stopping at all stations” and advises passengers to check before they travel. Similarly, Southern warns of “late-notice cancellations and amendments”.
