Rail Strike Advice

Last updated 22 April

Find out when rail strikes will impact our service, and how to travel between central London and Stansted Airport

There will be industrial action affecting many UK train companies between Monday 6 and Saturday 11 May. Please check your journey on nearer the time as timetables may change.

Below are expected changes to Stansted Express services. 

Monday 6 May

Not a Stansted Express strike day. We expect to be running a nearly normal service but there may be some small changes to our service.

Timetables are not confirmed so please check your journey nearer the time.

Tuesday 7 May

Stansted Express strike day. We expect to run an hourly service from London and Stansted Airport. Our early and late trains may be impacted too.

Timetables are not confirmed so please check your journey nearer the time.

Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 May

Not a Stansted Express strike day. We expect to be running a nearly normal service but there may be some small changes to our service.

On Wednesday 8 May, our first trains of the day to start later than usual. 

Timetables are not confirmed so please check your journey nearer the time.

Timetables

Please check your journey before you travel. Timetables will update with correct times a few days before a strike.

• Stansted Express - Use our train times tool
• UK trains - visit the Greater Anglia website.

Helpful travel tips

• Use alternative transport if you need to
• Be aware of planned service alterations

Assisted Travel

If you need assistance, please contact Passenger Assist to plan your journey before you travel.

New bookings will be available on strike days when the timetable has been confirmed.

If you’ve already booked assistance it may be affected by timetable changes due to strike action so you should check if your train is running before making your journey. We will endeavour to contact you to notify you if this is the case.

Will there be more strikes?

There are currently no further rail strikes announced that will be affecting Stansted Express services.

It is possible that there will be more rail strikes in the UK. Unions have to give two weeks’ notice to train companies of any further strike dates. We’ll share our travel advice for strikes that affect the Stansted Express on this page.

Strike refund information

1. Travel on a different day with the same ticket

• We'll update this section to let you know when you can use your ticket another day, please check back later.
• Please note, our service the day before and after a strike day could be busy.

2. Claim a refund

• If you bought a ticket and decide not to travel because your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you can claim a full refund. Please go back to your original place of purchase.
• If you have a return ticket and don't travel because of the strike, you can claim a full refund on unused tickets if your outbound or return journey is on a strike day.
• You need to claim within 28 days from the last day of the validity of your ticket.
• Customers are strongly encouraged to refund their tickets and rebook for a day that is not close to a strike day, as trains on the days immediately before and after strike days are expected to be busy.
• Please don't send us images of passports, credit or debit cards, driving licences and bank statements or information which is personal to you. If we do need further information from you to look into a complaint or enquiry then we will get in touch about what we need and how to send it to us.

If your journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim compensation with Delay Repay.

Refund tickets purchased on our website

Email your request with your original booking confirmation to [email protected].

Refund tickets purchased at our stations or Stansted Airport

Send your unused tickets, with a note of your name and address, to:

Refunds Department
Greater Anglia
The Hub
Colchester North Station
Colchester CO1 1JS
United Kingdom

Season tickets

If you activated a Flexi Season pass, or are a Season ticket holder (monthly or longer, you can claim a day back if your train operator is impacted by a full strike day, and don't travel because you're unable to, with Delay Repay.

When making your claim, please select the 'Did Not Travel' option. You'll just need to tell us the outward portion of your trip only (not return journey) to claim a full day of your ticket.

Weekly Season Tickets and Weekly Travelcards which haven’t started yet can be refunded but a £10 admin fee may apply. It’s recommended you use the Season Ticket Calculator to make sure that a Weekly Season ticket is the best value during a period of industrial action, as compensation won’t be available unless your service is cancelled or delayed.

Contact us

If you need help, you can contact us by submitting an online form.

Find other ways to contact us.

Useful information

View information about how other trains in the UK will be affected by rail strikes.