Christmas Train Strikes Could Leave Students Stranded this Festive Season

Christmas is fast approaching, which means many students will be thinking about their return home for the holidays. But such decisions might not include rail travel, as The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have announced 4 weeks’ worth of industrial action. 

Over 40,000 members across Network and 14 Train Operating Companies will be striking from the 13^th to the 17^th of December as well as from the 3^rd to the 7^th of January in a series of 48-hour strikes.  Many university terms will be drawing to a close around these December dates, the University of Leeds being one of them. So, what impact might this have on students heading home for the holidays? 

Many students rely on train services to get them from their hometown to university. And amidst a cost-of-living crisis, the cost of a train journey with a railcard might be a cheaper option for students than travelling by car. Data from RAC reveals that the average price of petrol in 2022 was recorded as 166.66 pence per litre and 175.59 pence per litre for diesel which is a significant increase from the year before. This might make travel by car an unlikely alternative to those facing a journey crisis this Christmas and as such, many students might find rail travel to be one of very limited options. 

Some people have taken to Twitter to complain that they are struggling to get back to their families at Christmas. One person also mentioned that people without cars are train companies’ core customer base, although they did also state that it was “good news for national express” as it might in fact mean that coach travel becomes the next course of action for travellers this festive season. 

Previous train strikes have also seen students asking in Facebook student groups if anybody is driving to certain locations and if they can get a lift, as they have no other means of getting there. These desperate attempts to find a way home might become commonplace as these train strike dates approach and may place students in danger as they accept lifts from people they don’t know. 

Frustration towards the train strikes is evident, but this frustration is the result of a lack of change made in support of train staff. In a statement published to RMT’s website, they maintain that Network Rail neglected to “improve an offer on jobs, pay and conditions for members”. They also said The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies, did not make their previous promises about working conditions. 

RMT’s general secretary Mick Lynch stated that “this latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people”. 

As much as students are likely to support such action, it does leave those far from home facing trouble ahead of Christmas. Coaches are likely to be a favourable substitute for students that need to get home, but if this is the case, then coaches are likely to face significant pressure in volumes of people over the coming weeks if it is the only travel option. 

Students that cannot make alternative travel arrangements are likely to be among those most impacted when these strikes hit, but what can they do to help the situation? Perhaps these strikes might be a call for students to do more to support rail staff, so their voices can be heard. But perhaps it should be more of a call to the government and those with the authority to make a change, so workers are not faced with having to disrupt journeys this Christmas, just so they can be listened to. 

It is a challenging and controversial situation for both strikers and students. It is evident more than ever that more needs to be done to improve working conditions and better support is required for transport staff. As otherwise, it has a considerable impact on many and could leave students stranded at university, and transport workers might continue to be ignored.  

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