September RMT rail strikes cancelled as Queen Elizabeth II dies: How decision will impact Birmingham

This month’s planned RMT railway strikes, which were set to take place on September 15 and 17, have been cancelled as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II.

The United Kingdom’s longest-serving Monarch died on Thursday 8 September at the age of 96.

A further bout of railway strike action was set to take place as a dispute escalates over pay, job security and working conditions, but this will no longer

Mick Lynch, Secretary-General of RMT, said: “RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth.

“The planned railway strike action on 15 and 17 September is suspended. We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country.”

What was the September rail strike going to look like?

Staff at nine train operating companies, as well as Network Rail, were to walk out for a 24-hour period over two days at the end of September, further adding to travel disruption seen in Birmingham and the UK throughout the year.

These additional days of strike action were to follow seven others in 2022, with walkouts on 21 June, 23 June, 25 June, 27 July, 13 August, 18 August and 20 August.

Despite the fact that the latest bout of strike days has now been cancelled, the 2022 strikes are still the biggest instance of industrial rail action in the UK since 1989.

How was the September national rail strike going to impact Birmingham?

Just like the other seven days we’ve seen of strike action in 2022, railway services to and from Birmingham were expected to be heavily disrupted. There were going to be very few trains running with a huge reduction in services.