National strike: Bedford commuters told only travel if absolutely necessary in early November

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is warning passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary with Thameslink on November 5, 7 and 9, due to national strikes by the RMT union.

Gatwick Express will not operate at all on these days although the airport will have a limited Thameslink service of eight trains an hour in each direction.

Passengers should make alternative travel plans where possible to reach bonfire celebrations as return journeys will not be running due to the early shut down of the rail network on strike days.

Schoolchildren, students and commuters will also be affected throughout the week up to and including Thursday, on both the strike days and the days after, when services start much later in the morning than usual.

Trains won’t start until 7.30am and they’ll finish early, between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. Passengers need to check what this means for their journeys as the first trains of the day may not reach stations until considerably later.

Overall, across Thameslink, there will be very few trains (around 20%) with crowding expected, particularly on first and last services.

Pre-planned engineering work on Saturday will also prevent Thameslink trains running between Luton and St Pancras.

Days after strikes: November 6, 8 and 10 – services will start much later.

Services will start later the morning after, at around 7.30am. Morning trains are likely to be very busy. Customers are recommended to travel later, plan their journeys and check again before travelling.

On Thursday, November 10, the RMT is also taking strike action on London Underground and London Overground.

More information is available here