After a few weeks without strikes, the industrial action on the railway is set to resume. RMT members working for train operators will be striking on the following days:
- Thursday 16 March 2023
- Saturday 18 March 2023
Update 26 March 2023: The planned strikes on 30 March 2023 and 1 April 2023 have now been suspended.
Note that these strikes no longer include Network Rail staff as RMT members who work for Network Rail are being balloted on the latest pay offer. However, this seems to have made little difference to the service on offer on strike days.
Southeastern and GTR (covering Southern and Thameslink) have announced plans for 16 March and 18 March. Neither company is running any running any services from Tonbridge. For Tonbridge, Paddock Wood and Hildenborough, the nearest trains will operate from Sevenoaks, comprising the following routes:
- A half hourly Southeastern service between Sevenoaks and London Bridge. On both days the first train from Sevenoaks to London Bridge is at 07:40 and the last train back from London Bridge to Sevenoaks is at 17:16.
- A Thameslink service between Sevenoaks and Blackfriars or Victoria via Otford and Catford. On Thursday 16 March a half hourly service runs between Sevenoaks and Blackfriars with the first train from Sevenoaks to Blackfriars at 07:22 and the last train back from Blackfriars to Sevenoaks at 17:46. On Saturday 18 March an hourly service runs between Sevenoaks and Victoria, with last train back from Victoria at 17:47.
While no services are running between Tonbridge and Redhill, there will be a limited Southern service between Uckfield and Oxted serving Edenbridge Town on both Thursday 16 March and Saturday 18 March. These services will run for restricted hours. Connections to and from London are available at Oxted.
On Friday 17 March there will be a late start of up services, with most Southeastern and GTR services starting up only from around 07:00 or later.
The lack of services at Tonbridge on RMT strike days is frustrating given the importance of the station. Southeastern has expanded its RMT strike services in the London suburbs, where alternative public transport options are available, but continues to run almost no services into Kent, where there are no such alternatives. We’ve pressed them to extend services to Tonbridge. We recognise that not many guards will report for duty on RMT strike days, but it is possible to run trains without guards between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge (albeit without stopping at Hildenborough).
Of course, the real hope is that the current industrial action will soon be behind us. The fact that a new offer from Network Rail is being put to RMT members offers some hope, although the RMT and ASLEF disputes with train operators at present seem no nearer to resolution.
