Strike action travel information

Please do not attempt to travel with Avanti West Coast on Wednesday 8 May as we will not be running any services on our routes.

Claim a full refund

Customers who booked tickets to travel on strike days before the industrial action was announced on 22 April can claim a full, fee-free refund from their point of purchase.

If you bought your ticket from the Avanti West Coast website or app, simply fill in this form within 28 days of your scheduled journey date, being sure to include your booking reference and/or a copy of your ticket. You will get a full refund with no admin fee.

If you bought your ticket from another retailer’s app or website, such as Trainline, please visit their website to request your refund.

If you bought your ticket from a station, head back there with your ticket for a full refund with no admin fee.

Travel flexibly

As industrial action is affecting a variety of train companies between 7 and 9 May, easements have been agreed so that the date validity of your pre-booked ticket (bought before the industrial action was announced on 22 April) is now more flexible.

Tickets dated between Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 May can be used any time from Monday 6 May up until Monday 13 May.

You don’t need to make any changes to your ticket in order to travel flexibly – our onboard and station teams will be ready to accept your tickets as outlined above. However, these easements do not include London Underground services.

Be sure to check before you travel on the alternative date you choose, especially if your planned journey involves more than one train company. Simply pop your journey details into our Live Train Status tool or visit other operators’ websites for further advice:

Tuesday 7 May: c2c, Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway mainline and depot drivers, and Island Line.

Wednesday 8 May: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express, London North Western Railway and West Midlands Railway.

Thursday 9 May: LNER, Northern and TransPennine Express.

We always try to contact anyone impacted, who has booked with us via our website and app, directly via email but you should always check your entire journey before you travel for the latest updates, especially when travelling across multiple train operators.

Although there won't be replacement buses in place of rail services affected by the strike action, you can use this online bus journey planner to explore your local alternative transport options.

Normal refund conditions apply for Season ticket holders, including Flexi Season tickets, if you no longer wish to use your ticket. You can request a refund from where you bought it.

If you do travel using your Season ticket and the strike action means your journey with Avanti West Coast is delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim Delay Repay compensation within 28 days of the journey, here.

If the Season ticket you hold is monthly or longer, or if you have an activated days’ worth of travel on a Flexi Season ticket, you will be able to claim 100% Delay Repay compensation for strike days or days with timetable disruption.

If one leg of your planned return journey is scheduled to be on a strike date, you’re able to take advantage of our ticket flexibility and refund options for both legs. That’s whether your ticket is a Return and either portion is affected, or if you’ve booked two Single tickets to make up a return journey.

Customers with tickets with either leg or portion booked on a strike date can claim a full refund from their point of purchase. Find out more, here

ASLEF strike action affected Avanti West Coast and multiple other train companies on 5, 6 and 8 April 2024. Refunds must be claimed within 28 days of the affected journey.

Claim a full refund

Customers who booked tickets to travel on strike days before the industrial action was announced on 20 March can claim a full, fee-free refund from their point of purchase.

If you bought your ticket from the Avanti West Coast website or app, simply fill in this form within 28 days of your scheduled journey date, being sure to include your booking reference and/or a copy of your ticket. You will get a full refund with no admin fee.

If you bought your ticket from another retailer’s app or website, such as Trainline, please visit their website to request your refund.

If you bought your ticket from a station, head back there with your ticket for a full refund with no admin fee.