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Those looking to travel home for the festive period could find any train travel plans ruined this year, as Cross Country has announced rail strikes in the lead up to\u00a0Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n RMT<\/a>\u00a0Union members working for Cross Country have announced that they will walk out over pay and other problems on four Saturdays in December 2025.<\/p>\n It comes after a proposal by the rail company, which workers described as \u2018worse than what was already on the table\u2019.<\/p>\n Cross Country serves major cities and more than 100 stations across the UK, from the south of\u00a0England<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n The strikes will happen throughout December but will not take place on any of the key Christmas public holidays.<\/p>\n The strikes will happen on:<\/p>\n Workers on Cross Country services are striking over long-term problems on pay and staffing \u2013 all part of a number of \u2018broken promises\u2019.<\/p>\n The union said it has \u2018tried repeatedly for months\u2019 to reach an agreement but the company had not honoured agreed decisions on overtime pay, staff resourcing and wage discrepancies for workers on different grades.<\/p>\n RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: \u2018Cross Country has not dealt with the core issues in this dispute and has come back with a proposal that is worse than what was already on the table.<\/p>\n \u2018Our members are still facing unresolved staffing shortages, unfair pay outcomes and broken commitments.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018RMT members have been left with no choice but to take strike action.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018The company must return with a serious offer that meets the commitments it has already made and treats our members with the fairness and respect they deserve.\u2019<\/p>\n Managing director at Cross Country Shiona Rolfe said the company has worked hard to \u2018make a reasonable offer that addresses the key points raised in this dispute\u2019.<\/p>\n She told\u00a0Sky News<\/a>: \u2018Our priority remains reaching an agreement that avoids disruption for passengers in the busy Christmas period, and we are ready to continue talks at any time.\u2019<\/p>\n It is likely most Cross Country journeys that connect Scotland, England and Wales via Birmingham New Street will be disrupted on strike days.<\/p>\n Cross Country updates can be found on their\u00a0\u2018industrial action\u2019 page<\/a>\u00a0for information about specific walkouts.<\/p>\n Customers may notice that Advance tickets have been paused for strike days, as Cross Country stated it does not \u2018want to mislead customers\u2019 about services. Once timetables are finalised, they should return.<\/p>\n The operator announced there will be a \u2018very limited CrossCountry service\u2019 on the December 6 strike day.<\/p>\n The following services will not be running that day:<\/p>\n Other lines will also be limited:<\/p>\n In the past, the operator kept some of the main corridors open on strike days but longer-distance and less frequent routes were suspended.<\/p>\n Other train services will also be disrupted over the festive period due to essential engineering works across\u00a0Network Rail<\/a>, so check your journey ahead of time.<\/p>\n\n
Why are rail workers striking?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhich services will be affected?<\/h2>\n
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