Ongoing industrial action across England’s rail network may cost the hospitality sector as much as £387 million this weekend, as it disrupts people’s travel plans right in the middle of the easter holiday season.
From today, Friday 5 April, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, West Midlands Railway, will experience service disruption, followed on Saturday by Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, LNER, Northern, and the TransPennine Express.
However, ScotRail is not currently subject to industrial action, and its domestic services are unaffected by any planned industrial action affecting other UK train operators. In the event of a ScotRail connection being affected by the strike action south of the border, the operator has promised to show flexibility to help travellers complete their journeys.
Looking at the UK picture, chief executive of UKHospitality Kate Nicholls said that so far, rail strikes in 2024 had cost businesses close to £750 million in lost trade, while the total impact since the start of the rail dispute in 2022 now totalled £5 billion.
“The cumulative cost of rail strikes continues to pile up for hospitality businesses, with potential lost sales of up to £387 million over the next four days alone,” said Nicholls.
“There is never a good time for strikes but this disruption will be particularly damaging. Families looking to enjoy the Easter holidays will now find plans disrupted and hospitality businesses trying to generate much-needed sales will see customer numbers dwindle.
“As April marks the cost of wages and business rates increasing annually by £3.4 billion for hospitality, businesses were looking to a successful Easter to help cover those new costs. That now looks like an increasingly difficult prospect.”
Nicholls appealed to England’s politicians and rail operators to end the expensive stalemate: “Hospitality continues to suffer as collateral damage in this dispute and it’s putting at risk the many ways hospitality serves Britain – through offering great experiences, employing millions of people and putting billions of pounds into the economy.
“This dispute has gone on for far too long and we need all parties to urgently get back round the table to negotiate. A solution that brings ongoing disruption to an end will be good for workers, businesses and the economy.”
