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Rail passengers have been warned they face significant disruption this Christmas Eve on the Rhymney Valley and Ebbw Vale lines.

The strike by the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) will begin on the evening of December 24, with the last trains travelling to and from Cardiff at around 4pm.

There will be no services offered on Valley Lines on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, with more strikes set to disrupt services on December 27.

In a statement, Transport for Wales (TfW) said: “The RMT have announced strike action will take place on 24 to 27 December, which will significantly disrupt the rail network across the whole of Wales, England and Scotland.

“TfW is not involved in the industrial action. However, the industrial action resulting from the dispute between the unions and Network Rail means TfW will be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure. Other operators’ services will also be impacted by the industrial action.

“TfW is advising customers to only make essential journeys on Christmas Eve, and to aim to finish their journeys by midday as services will wind down in the afternoon ahead of the start of industrial action in the evening.

“TfW services will not be running on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, resuming on December 27 – services on some routes will start later than usual that day due to the strike action. Core Valley Lines services will also not be running on New Year’s Day.”

RMT members are striking over pay and conditions. They are currently negotiating with Network Rail after a 5% pay rise was rejected earlier this year.

More information on how the strikes may affect you can be found on the TfW website.