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Families are facing end-of-summer travel misery after train drivers and border force workers announced a new wave of strikes.
Train drivers at LNER are to stage a series of strikes after alleging a breakdown in industrial relations and the breaking of agreements by the company, their union Aslef has announced.
Aslef said the issue was “entirely separate” from the national pay dispute which has seen drivers offered a 14pc pay rise over three years.
Here is everything you need to know about the strikes.
When will the strikes take place?
Passengers using the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh will face lengthy disruption when drivers walk out.
The strikes will take place on Saturdays and Sundays every weekend from Saturday, August 31, to Sunday, September 10.
Which train lines are affected?
LNER runs intercity services between London King’s Cross and major cities in northern England and Scotland, such as Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Leeds and Doncaster.
No other railway lines are expected to be on strike at the same time. Aslef members, including the strikers, were handed a 14.25 per cent pay rise by the Government on Wednesday.
How will the train strikes affect me?
It is not yet clear how comprehensively the Aslef strikes will be implemented by drivers. However, trains run by competing operators may offer an alternative. For example, a traveller wanting to visit St Andrews, which is served by Leuchars station, could take a Lumo train between London and Edinburgh and then a local ScotRail service to Leuchers.
Someone normally travelling between London and York on LNER could choose between services offered by both Grand Central Railway and Lumo.
While LNER dominates the East Coast main line, the strikes will not affect trains on the West Coast main line. Trains run by Avanti will continue to run between London and Glasgow and Edinburgh.
A number of football matches around the country are taking place on the weekends of the LNER strikes.
The Premier League declined to comment, while the Football League said it would be encouraging clubs to tell fans about alternative non-rail travel methods for getting to and from their grounds on match days.
Passengers could also consider long-distance coach operators National Express and MegaBus, which offer services to Scotland.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Yet another set of strikes will be incredibly frustrating for hospitality businesses, especially with LNER trains acting as a vital connection for travellers to visit popular destinations like Newcastle, Edinburgh, York and Durham, as well as London.