By Nick Horner
Copyright birminghammail
A major train operator has confirmed there will be limited services from Birmingham as railway staff are set to strike. Train operator CrossCountry has said its services will be hit on Saturday, October 18, as members of the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) take industrial action. It said fewer of its normal services will be running and some parts of the network will not have any service at all. Read more: Ryanair cuts flights to Spain in huge blow to UK tourists CrossCountry said it was warning its customers of ‘significant travel disruption’ due to planned industrial action by the RMT union on Saturday 18 October. As a result of fewer services, those that are being run will also be ‘significantly busier than usual’. Services will also finish much earlier than usual and there will be ‘changes to calling patterns’, so passengers will have to plan their trips carefully. There will be no CrossCountry services on the Birmingham New Street Station to Leicester and Cambridge/Stansted Airport routes. There will be very limited services between Birmingham and Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds/York and Birmingham and Reading Elsewhere there will be limited services between Gloucester and Cardiff, Derby and Nottingham, Bristol and Plymouth/Paignton/Penzance, Edinburgh to Glasgow/Aberdeen and between, Southampton and Bournemouth, which is not industrial action-related but due to engineering work. Some services will be extended onto Southampton and Edinburgh. The train firm said the disruption is being caused by RMT union members in customer service roles striking. Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp , click the link to join A spokesman for the RMT union, asked to explain what the industrial action was about, said: “We are seeking meetings with the company and a negotiated settlement.” Shiona Rolfe, CrossCountry’s managing director, said: “We are disappointed for our customers that the RMT has announced more industrial action. “While we will try to run as many services as services as possible, customers will inevitably face significant disruption. “We are committed to reaching an agreement with the RMT and remain available to continue talks.” Get the latest BirminghamLive news direct to your inbox Passengers planning to travel with CrossCountry on Saturday, October 18 are advised to check before they travel with National Rail Enquiries or on the CrossCountry website or app for the latest news and advice. Similar industrial action has been announced by the RMT for Saturday, November 1. CrossCountry is based in Birmingham and connects seven of Britain’s largest 10 cities, with 240 services a week stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance and from Cardiff to Stansted.