Two days of strike action set to disrupt West Midlands Railway services on 31 July and 1 August 2026 were suspended following further negotiations between West Midlands Railway and the TSSA trade union.
Affected Routes Across the West Midlands
The planned strikes would have impacted services across the West Midlands region, including Birmingham, the Black Country, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire. Specific routes set for reduced or suspended service included the Cross City line from Lichfield Trent Valley to Redditch and Bromsgrove, Wolverhampton to Walsall, and Rugeley Trent Valley to Birmingham International. Additional affected lines were those via Birmingham Snow Hill, the Camp Hill
line, Nuneaton to Leamington Spa, and Birmingham New Street to Hereford and Shrewsbury.
Cause Linked to Rest Day Working Payments and Previous Strikes
The strike action was triggered by a dispute over payments for rest day working. The TSSA union had proposed this walkout following unsuccessful negotiations prior to new talks that led to the suspension. Earlier in July, on 11 and 12 July 2026, the same union had conducted strike action, which also caused service reductions on West Midlands Railway.
Normal Timetables to Resume, No Disruption Expected
With the strike suspended, West Midlands Railway confirmed that services would run on a full normal timetable over the weekend of 31 July and 1 August 2026. Passengers will
not experience any delays or cancellations due to industrial action on the affected routes.
Jonny Wiseman, the customer experience director at West Midlands Railway, expressed satisfaction with the strike suspension, noting the potential disruption it would have caused for customers across multiple counties.
