West Midlands Rail staff are set to continue industrial action this weekend. Credit: WMR

Birmingham trains cancelled as WMR staff resume industrial action

6 July 2026 11:43 Mike Sheridan Comments (0)

Staff at West Midlands Railway are set to go on strike this weekend over what they say is an ‘intolerable’ situation at the rail operator.

Members of rail workers union TSSA will walk out between Thursday, July 9 and Saturday, July 11 in an ongoing dispute over rest day conditions – a move they admit will cause considerable disruption to passengers.

West Midlands Railway says a limited timetable will be in operation on Friday and Saturday, and some routes will have no service.

This is the second round of strikes in the dispute, after similar action was taken in May this year.

TSSA says it’s seeking parity with other unions on rest day pay, but talks between the union and the arbitration service ACAS have produced no breakthrough since May.

“These strikes will go ahead as planned because our members have not been given parity with those in other unions – a perfectly reasonable demand,” said TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust.

“As things stand we face an intolerable situation. Our reps at West Midlands Trains have consulted the membership and they remain determined to proceed with their legitimate action.

“The last round of industrial action caused a significant impact to services and the same will happen this time around. Of course, as ever our union only takes strike action as a last resort, so we hope that our demands can be met in coming days to avoid any more disruption.”

Trains between Wolverhampton and Walsall via Birmingham New Street will go down to one service per hour, while the cross city line will drop to two per hour.

Trains between Birmingham and Shrewsbury and Birmingham and Hereford will be cancelled entirely.

Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: “We are disappointed TSSA has called further unnecessary strike action which is set to cause significant disruption for our customers. We are working hard to reach a resolution to this dispute and urge TSSA to continue talks.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause our customers and are doing everything we can to minimise the impact as much as possible. If the strike action does go ahead, we will be running a significantly reduced timetable on both dates. Customers are advised to check before they travel by visiting journey planners and our website.”