The first nationwide rail strikes for the reason that Eighties started in June 2022. The RMT and Aslef trades unions are concerned in parallel disputes with the main English practice operators over pay, jobs and dealing circumstances. The authorities – which contracts the rail companies to run trains – will log off the ultimate settlement. But the unions and administration seem as far aside as ever.
Both unions are demanding no-strings will increase that take note of the excessive degree of inflation. They say they’re ready to debate reforms, however these have to be negotiated individually. They will count on any modifications to be accompanied by commensurate pay boosts.
Train operators and ministers insist modernisation is crucial following the collapse of rail income. Much of the “bedrock” of season ticket gross sales has vanished for the reason that Covid pandemic. The solely approach to award even a modest improve, the employers preserve, is to fund it out of effectivity financial savings.
The RMT has up to now staged walk-outs on 33 days within the present wave of nationwide strikes, with Aslef stopping work on 11 earlier events.
Caught within the center: the long-suffering passenger. For 14 months, nationwide rail strikes and different types of industrial motion have scuppered the journey plans of tens of thousands and thousands of practice passengers. Stoppages have been referred to as steadily, inflicting huge disruption and making advance journey planning tough.
The largest rail union, the RMT, has referred to as walk-outs in late August and early September, whereas Aslef, representing practice drivers, has a mixture strike and time beyond regulation ban.
These are the important thing questions and solutions.
Who is taking industrial motion, and when?
The largest rail union, the RMT, says 20,000 RMT members throughout 14 practice operators are walking out on the 2 key Saturdays on the finish of the summer season holidays:
The practice drivers’ union, Aslef, will stage a one-day strike on Friday 1 September and mount an time beyond regulation ban the next day.
Why have these dates been chosen?
As with any industrial motion, strikers search to trigger as a lot disruption as they will. With rail commuting sharply down for the reason that Covid pandemic, leisure passengers now comprise the principle goal.
The first RMT strike, on Saturday 26 August, is designed to wreck the journey plans of thousands and thousands of passengers, significantly households coming back from holidays. In addition it’ll hit music followers attending festivals in Leeds and Reading Festival over the late August financial institution vacation, and rugby supporters attending the England v Fiji match at Twickenham.
Sunday morning providers can even be hit. Southern, which runs trains in south London, Surrey and Sussex, warns: “We expect first services to be extremely crowded and you may not be able to board your chosen service. You are advised to start your journey later on in the morning.”
The second RMT strike, on Saturday 2 September, can even goal households – it’s more likely to be a particularly busy day for travellers arriving again from abroad holidays by air, a lot of whom would usually journey home by rail
Both RMT stoppages are meant to scupper journey plans for a lot of soccer followers on the principle day for fixtures.
The Aslef walk-out on Friday 1 September was introduced after the RMT strike was referred to as. The goal is to deepen the disruption to passengers.
Typically with a one-day strike, travellers will change to adjoining days; with two days wherein tens of 1000’s of trains are cancelled, the strain on Thursday 31 August and Sunday 3 September will likely be much more intense.
The practice drivers’ motion can even hit weekenders attending a variety of smaller end-of-summer occasions, together with the British Country Music Festival in Blackpool, the Sundown Festival in Norfolk and the Moseley Folk Festival in Birmingham.
Overseas guests arriving at English ports and airports for a weekend or longer keep can even be affected.
Which practice operators are concerned within the nationwide disputes?
The RMT strikes and Aslef time beyond regulation bans contain 14 rail companies in England contracted by the Department for Transport. They embrace the main intercity operators:
- Avanti West Coast
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- LNER
- TransPennine Express
London commuter operators:
- C2C
- Greater Anglia
- GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)
- Southeastern
- South Western Railway (together with the Island Line on the Isle of Wight)
Operators specializing in the Midlands and north of England:
- Chiltern Railways
- Northern Trains
- West Midlands Railway
Which trains will run throughout the strikes?
The impression is tough to foretell precisely, particularly on Saturday 2 September when the Aslef time beyond regulation ban will exacerbate the consequences of the RMT walk-out.
Aslef says of its 1 September walk-out: “The strike will force companies to cancel all services in this country.”
That isn’t true, however the stoppage could have extra impression than the 2 RMT strikes.
On all of the strike dates, passengers can count on regular service on:
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Grand Central
- Heathrow Express
- Hull Trains
- London Overground
- Lumo
- Merseyrail
- ScotRail
- Transport for Wales
Many of the trains that these operators are more likely to be extra punctual than regular, as a result of so many different providers will likely be axed – decreasing the prospect of congestion.
They might, nevertheless, be extra crowded on routes that duplicate strike-hit traces. Transport for Wales providers between Newport, Cardiff and Swansea, and between Crewe and Manchester, might be busier than regular.
The three “open access” operators on the East Coast predominant line – Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo – are additionally more likely to be busy.
On affected practice operators, these are the possible service ranges. Please examine with operators shortly earlier than journey for the latest image:
Southeastern: On RMT strike days, most trains will likely be cancelled. The practice agency says: “Only 51 out of our 180 stations will be open.”Links wil run from London to Bromley South, Dartford and Sevenoaks, in addition to the high-speed line from London St Pancras International to Ashford International, Canterbury and Ramsgate, with decreased service hours.
Aslef strike day: No providers.
Southern: A much-reduced timetable will function on RMT strike days. Some stations won’t be served. No trains will run on the Aslef strike day.
Gatwick Express: Cancelled on all days of business motion, however various Southern providers between London and the airport can be found (and less expensive).
Thameslink: On RMT strike days, the central London core between London Bridge and St Pancras International will likely be closed throughout all industrial motion. On the remainder of the community, a much-reduced service will run between 7am and 7pm.
No trains will run on the Aslef strike day.
Southwestern: “Customers should only travel if their journeys are absolutely necessary,” the practice agency says.
On all strike days, a skeleton community will hyperlink London Waterloo with Guildford, Southampton, Ascot and Hampton Court.
Great Western Railway (GWR): “Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all,” the agency says.
“Services will only operate for a limited period, starting later in the morning and finishing much earlier in the evening.”
A core service is probably going between London Paddington and Oxford, Cardiff, Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth on all strike days – although Devon providers could also be cancelled on the Aslef strike day (1 September).
CrossCountry: On RMT strike days, a decreased community with nothing southwest of Bristol to Exeter, Plymouth or Cornwall. No trains will run north of Edinburgh.
Cardiff to Nottingham trains won’t run, and the standard hyperlink from Birmingham to Stansted Airport will terminate at Peterborough.
Aslef strike day: Few or no providers.
Chiltern: The community will likely be decreased to a restricted service linking London Marylebone with Aylesbury, Banbury and Oxford on all strike days.
The impression will likely be heightened by the present closure, till 29 October, of the road between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury attributable to work on HS2.
West Midlands Railway: Limited service on RMT strike days; all trains cancelled on Aslef strike day.
Avanti West Coast: On RMT strike days, the basic sample to and from London Euston will likely be one practice every hour to/from:
- Manchester
- Liverpool (through Birmingham)
- Preston, with a restricted service onwards to Carlisle.
Aslef strike day: No providers.
Northern: “Very limited train service” on RMT strike days. All trains cancelled on Aslef strike day.
TransPennine Express: On RMT strike days, a really restricted variety of trains will run on the Manchester Piccadilly-Leeds-York-Scarborough route; between Preston and Manchester Airport; and between Sheffield and Cleethorpes. On the Aslef strike day, there could also be no providers.
East Midlands Railway: For 26 August and a couple of September, the RMT strike days, the operator says: “Only travel by rail if absolutely necessary and if you do travel, expect severe disruption.”
But intercity providers and native hyperlinks are more likely to be operated on the RMT strike day.
No trains will run on the Aslef strike day.
LNER: On RMT strike days, LNER historically runs common providers on the London-York-Newcastle-Edinburgh route, with first departures round 7am and last arrivals round 10pm. London-Leeds providers will run roughly 7am-6pm.
Aslef strike day: decreased service however common trains on core routes.
Great Northern: “An amended timetable with fewer services will run. Services will be busier than usual, especially in peak hours. It’s likely you will need to queue and you may not be able to board your chosen service. You should allow extra time for your journey.”
Greater Anglia: On RMT strikes: “Most routes will have a normal or near-normal service between 7am and 11pm.” This consists of the London Liverpool Street-Colchester-Ipswich-Norwich line, in addition to hyperlinks to and from Stansted airport.
On the Aslef strike day, there could also be no providers.
What is going on in regards to the London Underground?
The Underground, the London Overground and the Elizabeth Line are unaffected by the deliberate industrial motion. But some routes that supply alternate options to rail providers hit by industrial motion, comparable to in south London, could also be busier than regular.
Will Eurostar be affected?
No, however connections to and from the practice operator’s predominant hub at London St Pancras International could also be tough due to industrial motion in any respect three home practice operators on the station (East Midlands Railway, Southeastern and Thameslink) serving the station.
What does the RMT say?
The RMT common secretary Mick Lynch says: “The government is not serious about settling this dispute which is leading to further disruption for passengers.
“Rail operators are not being given a mandate to make a new offer that we can put to members in a referendum to settle this dispute.
“Our industrial campaign will continue as long as it takes to get a negotiated settlement.”
Why is Aslef calling its members out on strike?
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s common secretary, mentioned: “We don’t want to take this action but the train companies, and the government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12 per cent.
“The government appears happy to let passengers – and businesses – suffer in the mistaken belief that they can bully us into submission. They don’t care about passengers – or Britain’s railway – but they will not break us.
“We haven’t heard a word from the employers – we haven’t had a meeting, a phone call, a text message, or an email – since Wednesday 26 April, and we haven’t had any contact with the government since Friday 6 January. This shows how the contempt in which the companies, and the government, hold passengers and staff and public transport in Britain.
“They are happy to let this drift on and on. But we are determined to get a fair pay rise for men and women who haven’t had one for four years while inflation has reached double figures. Our members, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy back in 2019.”
What do the practice operators say?
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, representing practice operators, mentioned of the RMT strikes: “With further strike action the RMT are once again targeting customers looking to enjoy various sporting events, festivals, and the end of the summer holidays, disrupting their plans and forcing more cars onto the road.”
“We have now made three offers, the latest of which would have given staff pay rises of up to 13 per cent as well as job security guarantees and the RMT executive have blocked this without a convincing explanation.
“We remain open to talks and we have said repeatedly that we want to give our people a pay rise, but until the union leadership and executive is united in what it wants and engages in good faith with the 30 per cent shortfall in revenue the industry is continuing to grapple with post Covid, it is difficult to move forward.
“Unfortunately, the repercussion of this impasse affects our staff, customers, and the communities across the country that rely on the railway.”
Of the Aslef strikes, the spokesperson mentioned: “The union leadership has its head in the sand and refuses to put our fair and reasonable offer to their members. The offer would increase the average driver base salary for a foour-day week without overtime from £60,000 to nearly £65,000 by the end of 2023.
“We want to give our staff a pay increase, but it has always been linked to implementing necessary, sensible reforms that would enhance services for our customers.
“We urge the Aslefleadership to acknowledge the substantial financial challenges facing the rail industry and work with us to achieve a more dependable and robust railway system for the future.”
What does the federal government say?
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport mentioned: “The government has facilitated fair and reasonable pay offers. However, union bosses are opting to prolong this dispute by blocking their members from having a vote on these offers – we continue to urge that members are given their say, and disruption is brought to an end.”
I’ve a ticket booked for a day hit by strikes. What can I do?
Passengers with Advance, Anytime or Off-Peak tickets can have their ticket refunded with no charge if the practice that the ticket is booked for is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.
Train operators are more likely to supply flexibility to journey on a variety of non-strike days.
Passengers with season tickets who don’t journey can declare compensation for the strike dates by way of Delay Repay.
What are the alternate options?
As all the time, long-distance coach operators – National Express, Megabus and FlixBus – will maintain working, although seats have gotten scarce and fares are rising.
