Train strikes: How rail walkouts on Friday will affect you

Friday's strike by train guards and station staff will lead to only half of rail services running. Even more trains are likely to be cancelled on Saturday when it's the turn of train drivers to walk out.

But it won't just be the trains grinding to a halt.

Expect gridlock on the roads, as hundreds of thousands of people try to reach Saturday's FA Cup Final at Wembley, the England v Ireland Test match at Lord's, the Epsom Derby and a Beyonce concert at Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Rail union officials say there is strong support among the public for their industrial action. That claim will certainly be well and truly tested over the next couple of days.

Which train operators will be affected on Friday?

About 20,000 rail workers such as guards and train managers as well as station staff in the RMT union are expected to strike. These are the firms affected:

• Chiltern Railways

• Cross Country

• Greater Anglia

• LNER

• East Midlands Railway

• c2c

• Great Western Railway

• Northern Trains

• South Eastern

• South Western railway

• Transpennine Express

• Avanti West Coast

• West Midlands Trains

• GTR, including Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express

Although the train operators are based in England, some of their services run into Wales and Scotland so journeys to those areas will also be disrupted.

What's the advice for passengers?

Tickets for Friday, 2 June can be used on the day before the date on the ticket or up to and including Tuesday, 6 June.

There will be wide regional variations in which services are disrupted so passengers are advised to check their journey before travel.

With another strike planned for Saturday, 3 June, passengers should check the last train times on the evenings before strike days and the mornings after as they might finish early or start later than normal.

Operators not listed above, for example Scotrail and Hull Trains, are not affected by strike action. But some train companies not on strike could be busy.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) advises that customers with advance, anytime or off-peak tickets for travel on Friday, 1 June can instead use their tickets on Tuesday or up to and including Tuesday, 6 June.   

The RDG says passengers with advance tickets can be refunded fee-free if the train that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.  

It further advises that if the advance ticket is for a train scheduled for a strike day, but it is not cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, and a customer prefers not to travel, they should contact their ticket retailer.  

If passengers have a return ticket they may also be entitled to a fee-free refund if any part of the journey is cancelled due to strikes.

Season ticket holders (flexi, monthly or longer) who cannot travel can claim 100% compensation through the Delay Repay scheme for the strike date of Friday, 1 June.

You can read more or watch this report about why people are taking strike action.

You can read further advice from National Rail about the strikes here.

Additional reporting by transport correspondent Katy Austin.