Owned by German state railways Arriva UK Trains, CrossCountry will face total meltdown this coming bank holiday weekend. The tumult is the result of a wildcat strike launched by its employees. Since June, workers have engaged in strike action involving an overtime ban and a refusal to work on rest days. That has resulted in a lack of service throughout the entire network.
CrossCountry, headquartered in Birmingham, runs an innovative, flexible network that connects cities across the entirety of Great Britain. It carries goods from Aberdeen on England’s northern border all the way down to Cornwall. Nonetheless, this weekend’s strike will have an unprecedented effect on service availability. Passengers are asked not to travel on Saturday, when CrossCountry will be running zero services.
Given this disruption, CrossCountry are encouraging passengers to travel either side of the bank holiday weekend. Work your trip’s timing around this curtain-up moment for a smoother, enjoyable experience! If you’ve already scheduled travel for Saturday and will be unable to attend, don’t worry! The legislation comes too late to save one of their plans.
Just 7% of CrossCountry services will operate to south-west England & north of York on Saturday. Cancellations to take effect on all routes this Sunday. Look forward to fewer hours of service all four days of the bank holiday weekend. On Monday, CrossCountry expects to run a “severely reduced” service, very limited between 08:00 to 18:00.
Commenting on the news, Shiona Rolfe, managing director of CrossCountry, said she was shocked at how things had turned out.
“It is hugely disappointing to not operate any services on Saturday, knowing the inevitable disruption to many of our passengers’ journeys over the bank holiday weekend. We are committed to reaching an agreement with the RMT and remain available to continue talks.” – Shiona Rolfe
CrossCountry workers are in the midst of an industrial action. They organized and are represented by the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers’ (RMT). An RMT spokesperson said that the vote of their members in favor of industrial action was overwhelming. They’re obviously hopeful to continue negotiations with management in good faith to arrive at an amicable negotiated settlement.
Passengers are deeply concerned with the SRT strike action. Thousands are counting on CrossCountry services to get away and enjoy what is sure to be a busy bank holiday. With many families and individuals planning their key trips during this time, the disruption would be very significant.