Passengers are being warned to plan journeys ahead of time this weekend as there will be no train services between London Paddington and South Wales on Sunday (December 3).

Train drivers union Aslef recently announced strike action across 16 Train Operating Companies between Saturday (December 2) and next Friday (December 8).

This strike action will be accompanied by a ban on overtime from Saturday to December 9 (the following Saturday).

As a result of the strike action, fewer drivers are available and this will affect long-distance services.

South Wales Argus: See which train services in South Wales will be affected over the coming weeks.See which train services in South Wales will be affected over the coming weeks. (Image: Great Western Railway)

Train services affected by the Aslef strikes

A rolling programme of strike action by the Aslef union affecting rail operators is due to take place between December 1 and 9.

The strikes are set to affect the following train operators on the following dates:

  • December 2 – East Midlands and LNER
  • December 3 – Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, West Midlands Trains, Great Northern/Thameslink
  • December 5 – C2C, Greater Anglia
  • December 6 – Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway, Island Line
  • December 7 – CrossCountry, Great Western Railway
  • December 8 – Northern, TransPennine

No train services between London Paddington and South Wales on Sunday (December 3)

Great Western Railway warned travellers that there will be no trains between London Paddington and Bristol, South Wales and Exeter/Plymouth on Sunday because of the industrial action by Aslef. 

Some parts of the GWR network will have no service at all on Sunday, including long-distance trains out of London Paddington. 

GWR said: "Customers are advised to travel before the weekend or after Sunday.

"Where GWR can run services, a very limited service will run, they will run less frequently, and are likely to be extremely busy.

"If you intend to travel where trains are running, please check before you travel as they will be busy and are likely to be disrupted."

Trains will also start later and finish earlier and there will be no replacement bus services operating.

GWR said to assist customers who already purchased tickets for days affected by strike action, they would be able to use them on an alternative service on another day. 

Tickets purchased for Saturday (December 2) to Friday (December 8) can be used the day before or up to and including Tuesday 12 December.  

Other train operators will also be impacted by this action, so onward travel will also be affected.

A limited service will run on the following routes on Sunday: 

  • London Paddington towards Didcot 
  • Oxford and Worcestershire 
  • London branch lines 
  • Reading and Basingstoke 
  • Reading and Newbury/Bedwyn  
  • Westbury and Swindon 
  • Cheltenham/Gloucester and Swindon 
  • Cardiff and Portsmouth 
  • Cardiff and Exeter St Davids via Weston-Super-Mare 
  • Bristol and Gloucester/Cheltenham/Worcester 
  • Bristol and Westbury/Weymouth 
  • Plymouth and Penzance 
  • Plymouth and Exeter 
  • Devon and Cornwall branch lines

Aslef strikes set to cause further disruption to South Wales train services next week

The Aslef strikes are also set to cause disruptions to South Wales train services next week. 

GWR said its services will be impacted next Thursday (December 7).

The industrial action will result in a reduced and revised timetable across several train operators.

GWR said: "Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all and trains that are running will only be operating for a limited period during the day. 

"On the days after strikes, services could also be affected by a limited number of short-notice cancellations and alterations."

Customers who purchased tickets but do not travel can claim a full refund or amend their ticket.

Those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more. 

Season-ticket holders can apply for compensation through the Delay Repay scheme.

GWR added: "Our Refund policy remains in place. If you hold a return ticket, you can claim a refund of your unused full fare, even if only one leg of your journey is affected."

For more information and to see if your train service has been impacted, visit the relevant train service provider's website.