Train companies affected by Saturday’s train drivers’ strike have cut their timetables, with some operators offering no service at all.
Nine railway companies will be affected when 6,500 members of train drivers’ union Aslef line up to discuss pay.
Passengers faced disruption over the summer due to several rail strikes, with unions demanding wage increases in line with rising living costs.
But railway bosses accuse the unions of “complete disregard” for passengers.
- How much are railroad workers paid?
- When and where are the rail strikes?
Train operators such as Southeastern, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway will not offer services on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Great Western Railway has announced that “a very limited service” will operate, but only between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington, Reading and Oxford, and Reading and Basingstoke.
Avanti West Coast has told passengers most of its network will have no services and is advising them not to travel. Hull Trains will also only offer one service, from London King’s Cross.
Meanwhile, LNER said it will run an extremely limited schedule and its trains will be very busy. There will be only one return train from Leeds to London throughout the day and one train every two hours in both directions between Edinburgh and London.
Greater Anglia has also told passengers to avoid traveling on the Stansted Express on Saturday as it is heavily restricted and there are no direct trains on this route. Also on Sunday there will be no direct Stansted Express trains.
The London Underground is also said to be affected. Transport for London has also informed passengers that the entire London Overground network, which is operated by Arriva Rail London and whose drivers are part of the strike, will not be served.
Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, has said passengers with tickets on the day of the strike can use their ticket either the day before or up to and including Tuesday 16 August.
The group previously said Aslef’s strike announcement showed a “cynical approach to talks, a complete disregard for passengers and jeopardizing everyone’s summer plans”.
“This action will bring the total number of rail strike days to ten and disrupt plans in June, July and August,” it said in a statement.
Various unions representing different trades in the rail industry have been conducting strike action and plan to hold more in the coming weeks for one main reason – pay.
In 2021, the average salary for train and tram drivers was £59,189 a year, while other railway workers such as ticket collectors and guards are paid £33,310. Railroad workers who lay and repair tracks are paid an average of £34,998.
Network Rail, which owns Britain’s rail infrastructure, and train operators have offered wages below the current rate of inflation, prompting union bosses to pull out of negotiations as they say rising living costs mean their members are being hit by cuts in wages are conditions.
The RMT has another problem with Network Rail’s plans to cut 2,500 maintenance points as the company seeks to save £2billion over the next two years.
The government has stated that the railway system needs to be modernized and made financially sustainable in the long term. It says £16billion in taxpayer money has been used to support railways during the Covid pandemic. But with passenger numbers still down by a fifth, changes are needed.
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