Newbury and Newcastle braced for disruption as latest rail strikes announced

Planned rail strikes are set to cause significant disruption for racegoers next Saturday and affect those travelling to Newbury for the Coral Gold Cup and Newcastle for the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

The train drivers' union Aslef has announced a strike on November 26, when its members will walk out at 11 companies. Six of them, including CrossCountry and TransPennine Express, are intercity operators, while five regional operators are also set to be affected.

There is a seven-race card at Newbury, including the feature Coral Gold Cup and Grade 2 John Francome Novices' Chase.

Harriet Collins, the track's marketing and sponsorship director, said: "It is obviously not ideal as there is a high volume of racegoers who travel by train for our biggest jumps fixture of the year.

“We'll send out communications to all our customers and staff advising them of the situation and to plan their journeys well in advance. We're fortunate to have ample car parking available which is also free and racegoers can leave their cars overnight.

“We have a complimentary shuttle service which runs from 4.30pm to 7.30pm on both days taking racegoers to the centre of Newbury coach station and if customers are wanting a taxi to return home, we would recommend they pre-book.

“We're really looking forward to two brilliant days of racing and want to encourage everyone to come along and not be put off by the train strike.”

Newcastle stages its biggest jump fixture of the year and the track's general manager Paul Elliott said: "We have a number of people coming down from the borders and Scotland but there are still some trains available.

"There will be a shortage and if anybody is struggling to get down, they can get in touch with us. We're still hopeful of a big day. Ticket sales have been strong and the weather looks like it will improve."

The walkout will trigger cancellations and affect people heading to meetings at Bangor, Doncaster and Wolverhampton. It will also impact rugby fans heading to matches in Cardiff and at Twickenham.

Read these next:

Two Saturday selections - including a handicap chaser for red-hot Paul Nicholls

Did you miss it? Our unmissable 80-page World Cup betting guide featuring the best outright and group bets plus expert opinion, comprehensive stats and much, much more is out now. Order your copy here