More than four fifths of rail journeys in the UK were scrapped outright on Wednesday causing widespread disruption for passengers as industrial action kicked in.
The strike will affect passengers travelling for holidays or attending events such as the women’s Euro 2022 semi-final in Milton Keynes on Wednesday and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday.
Network Rail is introducing operational changes in response to fewer passengers travelling by train because of the pandemic, which has led to more people working from home. It has now offered a two-year 8 per cent deal with a no-compulsory-redundancy guarantee and other benefits and extras on the table.
Negotiations broke down and more than 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies are set to strike in England in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out on Wednesday, potentially affecting rail services across the country. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) also announced a strike by its members at Avanti West Coast on the same day.
Network Rail pointed out that all train operators may be affected by the strike, whether they have an individual dispute with the RMT or not, because signallers control train movements across the entire country.
There will be no Gatwick Express services and passengers should also expect significant disruption to Heathrow Express and Stansted Express services.
Transport for London (TfL) said while the industrial action does not involve its staff, varying degrees of disruption are expected on the District and Bakerloo Tube lines, London Overground, and the Elizabeth line, which all share some sections of track with Network Rail.
The strike action will cause significant disruption to Elizabeth line services, with only two trains per hour running on some lines.
On the London Overground, a reduced service will be in operation between 7.30am and 6.30pm, so passengers are advised to complete their journeys by 6pm.
The RMT said there has been no change or improvement in the pay offers it has received and said the threat of compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50 per cent cuts to maintenance work had been raised.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said driver-only operations and the “ransacking” of members’ terms and conditions had also been put on the table by the train operating companies. “Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new,” he said.
There is plenty of bad blood around ― Network Rail has accused the RMT of “obstinacy” and branded its action as a “political campaign”, while the Department for Transport said the union is “hell-bent on creating further misery for passengers across the UK”.
It said that the rail industry has to modernise and be brought into the 21st century for the benefit of passengers and staff.
In turn, Mr Lynch said the RMT’s members are “more determined than ever” to secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions and they will not be bullied or cajoled.
He said that the government needs to stop interfering in the dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement.
Organisers of the Commonwealth Games have told attendees to check with their train operators if they are planning to travel by rail to Birmingham on Wednesday or Thursday, and advised them to consider long-distance coaches if trains are cancelled.
Network Rail expects a “very limited” timetable will be available across the country on the strike day, with about 20 per cent of services running, but some parts of the country with no rail services.
Trains will start later and services will finish much earlier than usual, with passengers told to expect disruption and to travel only if necessary.
Chiltern Railways will not be able to operate services on most routes on Wednesday owing to an extremely limited availability of staff, and customers have been told to travel only if necessary on services such as Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway and Northern.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef at eight train operators across the country will go on strike on Saturday.
It was also announced that members will also now walk out on Saturday August 13, as the union said the firms failed to make a pay offer to help members keep pace with cost-of-living increases.
Two further RMT strikes are expected to take place on August 18 and 20 over job security, pay and working conditions.
Meanwhile, Labour has sacked shadow frontbencher Sam Tarry after he defied the Sir Keir Starmer’s ban on joining picket lines in support of striking rail workers.
The party said Mr Tarry, the shadow transport minister, had been “removed from the frontbench”, and that it took seriously “any breach of collective responsibility”.
