Train strikes this May
There are currently scheduled train strikes next week which may impact your journey coming onto campus.
West Midlands Train and Cross Country, the trains that serve the University station route, will strike on Wednesday 8 May. Services are also likely to be disrupted and start later on the day immediately following a full strike day. Passengers are warned to expect significant disruption and advised to plan ahead and check before you travel. In addition, both train operators will have an overtime ban from Monday 6 May - Saturday 11 May which may alter the timetable of trains that will be running.
Please note, this is during the assessment season and exams are still scheduled to go ahead as planned. So, we recommend you travel in advance, or find an alternative way to come onto campus. If you have any questions, please contact your School.
What you need to do
Please plan your journey before travelling and allow extra time as other forms of public transport may be busier than usual.
We also recommend you check your train journey before you travel on the National Rail journey planner for live information and updates. Some timetables are not amended until closer to the date of travel.
You can also check directly on the following local transport provider websites that serve the University station route:
I already have a ticket for a strike day. What should I do?
If your train is cancelled, you have two options: either a full refund or a free change of journey time, no matter what type of ticket you have. Even if there is a limited service on your line, you can choose to travel on a different day to avoid the strikes.
Whichever option you choose, the first step is to contact the company you bought your ticket from, which could be the rail company itself, or a website like theTrainline.com. Train companies have put together advice on claiming a refund, changing your journey time, and travelling on alternative date with your ticket.
Alternative travel
If you do need to travel on the above dates, we recommend you look at alternative transport. For local travel, check out the Transport for West Midlands website and our Sustainable Travel intranet page where you can find more information on discounts available by bus.
For further journeys, you may want to check out travelling by coach. Students can get 15% off at National Express and 10% off at Megabus.