The industrial action by members of the Aslef union represents the biggest strike by drivers in decades and will halt services at some train operators. Services affected include West Midlands Trains, which runs services to sporting venues around Birmingham, the Commonwealth Games host city. Rail bosses accused the union of targeting its action on the opening weekend of both the Games and the new season of English football. Long-distance services on the LNER, which runs from London to Scotland via Leeds, will be significantly reduced. Major Western services will be severely curtailed. All Heathrow Express trains are canceled and no GWR services will operate west of Bristol to Wales. A minimal Greater Anglia service and only one Hull Trains service in each direction will operate. No trains will run on Southeastern, while the majority of London Overground services will also stop. Other train operators, including Southern and Thameslink, have warned that services could be crowded and disrupted as passengers switch to alternative services. Motor industry body the AA has meanwhile issued an “amber alert”, warning that the train strikes will contribute to heavy rush-hour road congestion, with more journeys expected due to sporting events and holidays. Some rail disruptions are expected to continue into Sunday. The drivers’ action escalates a bitter dispute over pay on the rail and comes shortly after the latest national strike by members of the RMT union. Around 40,000 RMT members, including Network Rail signalmen and crew at 14 train operators, went on strike on Wednesday. Further strikes are planned by Aslef on August 13 and the RMT on August 18 and 20, when simultaneous industrial action by the TSSA union could reduce the number of emergency staff available, meaning even fewer are likely to be on the move trains. Industry body Rail Delivery Group said it was “genuinely disappointed” that the union was taking action to disrupt the plans of millions of passengers, particularly those hoping to attend sporting events. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk RDG urged passengers to plan ahead and check the latest travel advice and said anyone with advance tickets could use them until Tuesday, change them or request a refund. Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We regret the disruption caused. We understand this happens when we take industrial action, but it’s up to the companies to fix it.” Whelan said strikes were “a last resort” but many of his members had not had pay rises for three years despite weathering the pandemic, and the high level of inflation meant they had taken a pay cut in real terms.