Southeastern is urging customers travelling for Bonfire Night celebrations on Saturday 5 November to check their last train home as many services will end before 19.00.
Because of strike action on three dates, Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November many routes are closed and there will be a reduced service on the lines that can open.
Customers who still have to travel are being advised to plan ahead and check times for both their outgoing and return journeys.
Getting services back to normal after the strike dates will also take some time. Southeastern will make every effort to get the regular timetable back in place but services can’t start until 07:00 on Sunday 6, Tuesday 8, and Thursday 10 November.
There is also strike action taking place on the London Underground and Overground on Thursday 10 November that will affect onward travel.
Scott Brightwell, Southeastern Operations and Safety Director, said:
“If these strikes go ahead there’ll be unavoidable disruption. We’re only able to run a limited service on 5, 7 and 9 November. We strongly advise any customers that do need to travel to check their first and last train times, especially on Bonfire Night this Saturday.
“We recognise the inconvenience this causes and offer our sincere apologies. We’ll continue to work as hard as we can to get normal services resumed as quickly as we can.”
To help keep customers up to date service timetables and detailed information is available on the Southeastern website: southeasternrailway.co.uk/industrial-action.
The website also provides information on how to claim a refund for customers who have already bought a ticket.
Refunds and compensation
Customers that have already bought a ticket can apply for a refund if they are unable to travel:
- Daily ticket holders can claim a full refund with no admin fee if they choose not to travel.
- Advance ticket holders can either apply for a full refund with no admin fee or return to the original retailer for an eVoucher, for use purchasing a future ticket. eVouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- They can request a fee-free change of journey for all ticket types if the train was cancelled or delayed or rescheduled from that in the published timetable of the day after you have purchased a ticket.
- Season ticket holders (Flexi, monthly or longer) can use Delay Repay to claim a day travel back if they choose not to travel on strike days. For a full day back, they only need to make one claim per day of strike action, making sure to select the reason for delay as ‘Industrial Action – did not travel'. For Flexi ticket holders, to receive Delay Repay they must have activated a pass for the day they are claiming.
- Weekly tickets – Make sure that a weekly season ticket is the best value if unable to travel during strike action. Check that the ticket bought is the best value ticket for the journey using Southeastern’s handy season ticket calculator. Weekly season tickets purchased from Southeastern, which have not started yet can be refunded minus a £10 admin fee. Go to the refunds page to claim a refund.
- Customers with Anytime, Off-Peak, or Advance tickets, also Ranger and Rover tickets dated 5, 7 or 9 November are permitted to travel either on the day before the date on the ticket or up to and including Friday 11 November 2022.
- If the ticket includes a journey on the London Underground, it will not be valid on London Underground services on an alternative date.
- If customers do travel and are delayed for 15 minutes or more, they are entitled to Delay Repay compensation.
