Passengers are being advised to avoid taking the train to bonfire and fireworks events, work and school due to strikes.

Both Southeastern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – which runs services from Rainham through London to Luton and St Albans – are warning passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary for three days next month.

Strike action is planned for Saturday, November 5, Monday, November 7 and Wednesday, November 9, due to nationwide strikes by the RMT union.

Passengers should make alternative travel plans where possible to reach Bonfire Night celebrations as return journeys will not be running due to the early shut down of the rail network on strike days.

Southeastern is running a limited service on each of the strike days with only 45 of its 180 stations open and some routes not running. No replacement bus services will serve the shut stations and routes.

Travellers are advised only to travel if "absolutely necessary" and to expect severe disruption if they are getting the train with latest details and timetables available on the Southeastern website.

All Southeastern routes apart from the High Speed 1 service from Ashford to London St Pancras, the Dartford line and Sevenoaks line will be open.

The last train back from London will be much earlier than usual, the operator has warned and there will be no London Underground, Elizabeth London or Overground services due to action by Transport for London staff.

Meanwhile, Gatwick Express will not operate at all on these days although the airport will have a limited Southern and Thameslink service of eight trains an hour in each direction.

Neither Battersea nor Alexandra Palace will be served past 3pm on Saturday, which are big destinations for many watching fireworks.

Schoolchildren, students and commuters will also be affected throughout the week up to and including Thursday, on both the strike days and the days after, when services start much later in the morning than usual.

Although train operator staff are also taking action on some of the days, it is striking signallers at Network Rail having the greatest impact on the service, leaving GTR to focus on providing a service on its busiest mainline routes only.

During the strike there will be no Thameslink service at all on most lines south of London, in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, across the heart of London itself, into London Moorgate, or on the route between Ely and King’s Lynn.

On the days after the strikes, Southeastern trains will not be running again until 7am,

GTR route trains will not run until 7.30am and they’ll finish early, between 4.30pm and 6.30pm during the strikes.

Passengers need to check what this means for their journeys as the first trains of the day may not reach stations until considerably later.

Overall, across Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink, there will be about just 20% of the normal timetable running with crowding expected, particularly on first and last services.

'There will be disruption all the way through to Thursday morning and schoolchildren in particular will be affected'

Pre-planned engineering work on Saturday will also prevent Thameslink trains running between Luton and St Pancras, and Southern metro services will not run via Crystal Palace or West Norwood.

On the days after the strikes services will start later at around 7.30am. Morning trains are likely to be very busy. Customers are recommended to travel later, plan their journeys and check again before travelling.

On Thursday November 10, the RMT is also taking strike action on London Underground and London Overground.

Online journey planners (www.nationalrail.co.uk) will be updated with the revised train times 3-4 days before each day.

Angie Doll, chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “I’m sorry so many people will be affected by the RMT strikes starting on November 5 and urge people not to travel by train unless absolutely necessary on any strike day.

“On Saturday, people may be considering taking the train to fireworks celebrations but the service will end early and they won’t be able to get back.

“In fact, there will be disruption all the way through to Thursday morning and schoolchildren in particular will be affected as services will start much later in the morning every day.

“Please plan ahead carefully by visiting nationalrail.co.uk. We continue to urge the unions to work with the industry and come to a resolution.”