Train strikes status: Disruption at London Euston and on Gatwick Express before January 2023 walkout

Bemused passengers at London Paddington who had followed advice to check trains before departure have discovered that the planned resumption of services has been delayed – with no certainty about when they might begin.

Engineering work outside the terminus has overrun, blocking the entrance to North Pole depot – meaning trains are trapped.

Many cancellations are anticipated for travellers between London, the West of England and South Wales.

Read the latest about travel chaos from London Paddington here:

As the latest national rail strike ended, passengers the length and breadth of Britain found the nation’s trains in disarray.

The four-day stoppage by members of the RMT union working for Network Rail ended at 6am.

At London Paddington station, hub for Great Western Railway services to the West of England and South Wales, as well as the Heathrow Express, a steady stream of would-be passengers were turned away. Many had pre-booked tickets for trains that had been cancelled.

Read more from our travel correspondent Simon Calder here:

Network Rail have published a calendar showing how services will be affected on strikes days throughout December and January.

Passengers have been told to expect disruption on the train network this morning after the latest round of rail worker strikes came to an end at 6am today.

Members of the RMT Union were striking across Britain over pay and conditions.

Trains will not begin running until 9am this morning, and will not start until midday in some places.

70 per cent of services will be operating today, according to Network Rail.

London Liverpool Street station is shut due to works, and there are limited services from London Victoria.

There are no services running to or from London Euston due to engineering works.

Most services will not call at York due to engineering work also. There were no trains due out of London Stansted Airport into London until after 8am this morning.

Other airport shuttle services have been affected, with the Gatwick Express to Victoria suspended. Heathrow Express trains from Paddington will not resume until after 11am.

In some parts of Scotland, such as Stirling, there will be no trains until 5pm due to shift starting times.

London Euston station is closed this morning due to engineering work. Network Rail are asking passengers to check before they travel as there will be no services in or out of the station.

Here’s a recap of what strikes are happening on the train lines today and in the coming weeks:

Strike action taken by the RMT Union on 27 December ended at 6am this morning. However the impact of the strike will likely affect trains throughout Tuesday morning.

The RMT strike is likely to affect most train companies across Britain, according to National Rail. They have warned that it is likely that there will be no trains at all on some routes on strike days.

In addition to the national strikes, Chiltern Railways will be significantly impacted by additional industrial action throughout the period from 13 December to 8 January.

Further national strike action by the RMT Union is taking place on 3 and 4 January. On 5 January, ASLEF Union will go on strike and then RMT workers will walk out again on 6 and 7 January.

A poll shows 65 per cent of junior doctors have “actively researched” leaving their jobs in the NHS as the sector prepares for a ballot on industrial action over pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA) survey of 3,819 junior doctors in England during November and December showed 79 per cent “often think about leaving the NHS” while 65 per cent “have actively researched leaving the NHS in the last 12 months”, according to the i-newspaper.

It comes as strikes are also considered by doctors in Scotland and Wales.

Former Conservative deputy prime minister Damian Green has called for care workers to be paid more, intensifying pressure on Rishi Sunak as the government tries to hold firm on public sector wages.

The prime minister is already facing demands from a number of Tory MPs to increase nurses’ salaries and bring an increasingly bitter strike to a halt.

But Mr Sunak has pledged he will hold out, for months if need be, for fear of increasing inflation.

Our Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

Ever since I was a young child, I dreamt of being a nurse that worked for the NHS. Twelve years ago, after lots of hard work and determination, I achieved that goal. There were lots of sacrifices from my family that supported me throughout my course.

I currently work as a deputy sister in an NHS hospital in Lincolnshire. My role is as part of an acute cardiology team that has face to face contact with patients that attend the hospital after having heart attacks and following cardiac arrests.

There have been many questions asked about why nurses are striking. Most people assume it is due to the real cut in our wages – but this is just a small part of why we are striking.

As part of our series looking at strikes, Debbie Quinn describes the reality of nursing inside NHS hospitals:

As part of our series looking at strikes, Salma Shah warns that industrial action is harming the public sector in its drive to stay competitive.