Strike action
Strike action travel advice
Last updated 1 December 2023
The RMT union has announced a pause on their strike action until Spring 2024, but the ASLEF union is taking strike action across our network on the following date:
- Wednesday 6 December.
There will be no Southeastern services running on this date and we are unable to provide replacement buses.
A rolling programme of strike action by ASLEF at other train operators, which will affect their services, is also taking place on the following dates:
- Saturday 2 December – East Midlands Railway and LNER
- Sunday 3 December – Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern, Thameslink and West Midlands Railway
- Tuesday 5 December – C2C and Greater Anglia
- Wednesday 6 December – Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, SWR main line, SWR depot drivers and Island Line
- Thursday 7 December – Cross Country and GWR
- Friday 8 December – Northern and TransPennine Express
ASLEF also has an overtime ban for the following dates, but we expect to run a full service during this time, except for Wednesday 6 December:
- Friday 1 to Saturday 9 December
Due to engineering work that is taking place between 2 – 8 December there are some changes to our services, please check our planned engineering work page for more details.
If the strike action is cancelled at short notice, we may not be able to switch back to our normal timetable immediately. Rail services are built in complex, interrelated IT systems covering fleet, crew schedules and rosters, and so it takes some time to get everything back to normal.
Please check your entire journey before you travel and we are very sorry for any inconvenience the strike action will cause you.
If previous strike action has affected your travel plans then please visit our strike refund page for more information.
You can keep up-to-date here where we’ll post the latest information, follow us on Twitter, or you can sign up to receive service updates on the planned strike action.
Travel advice for Wednesday 6 December
- There will be no Southeastern services running on the rail network and we are unable to provide replacement buses. For alternative transport options visit traveline.
- We will be running our normal timetable on Tuesday 5 and Thursday 7 December, including in the early morning.
- Journey planners for our timetable on Wednesday 6 December are up to date.
Ticketing and refunds
- Customers with Advance, Anytime or Off-Peak tickets for travel on the strike days can instead use their ticket on an alternative date:
- Tickets for travel between Saturday 2 December and Friday 8 December can be used at any time from Friday 1 December up until Tuesday 12 December. (This only applies to tickets purchased before the strike action was announced on 17 November.)
- If the ticket is for a journey that includes the London Underground it will not be valid on London Underground services on an alternative date.
- You can claim a full refund with no admin fee for your unused ticket (other than season ticket), if you decide not to travel because the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled after you purchased your ticket.
- You can request a fee-free change of journey or cash refund for all ticket types (other than season ticket) if the train was cancelled or delayed or rescheduled from that in the published timetable of the day after you have purchased a ticket.
- If you didn’t/couldn't make your outward journey because of strike action, you can have a refund on your outward and return ticket (other than season ticket) even if the latter is not affected by strike action. The same applies if your return journey is affected, but your outward journey is not.
- If you have an Advance ticket you can either apply for a full refund with no admin fee if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled or return it to the original retailer for an eVoucher, for use purchasing a future ticket. eVouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of issue. If you have two Advance tickets (an outbound and a return), to be used as a return journey, and either of the legs is on a strike day and the train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you can claim a fee-free refund or change of journey for any unused legs / tickets.
- If you’re a Season ticket holder (Flexi, monthly or longer) you can use Delay Repay to claim a day of travel back if you don’t travel on strike days. For a full day back, you only need to make one claim per day of strike action, making sure to select the reason for delay as 'Industrial Action – did not travel'. For Flexi ticket holders, to receive Delay Repay you must have activated a pass for the day you're claiming.
- Weekly Season ticket holders cannot be compensated for strike dates announced at least two weeks beforehand, but you can claim Delay Repay if your train is delayed or cancelled on the day.
- When trains are running, if you travelled and were delayed for 15 minutes or more, you are entitled to Delay Repay compensation.