Bank Holiday getaways ruined as rail strikes disrupt travel plans
Holidaymakers and festival goers faced travel misery this weekend as the latest round of train strikes disrupted bank holiday plans.[1][2]
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union staged a strike on Saturday, with 20,000 workers taking part in a dispute over pay and working conditions.[3]
The strike caused disruption across Britain for holidaymakers and those travelling to events including London’s Notting Hill carnival, the Reading and Leeds music festivals, and to sports events.
Severe congestion was reported on Britain’s motorways especially those leading to airports and the Port of Dover.
The RAC has said 14 million drivers planned leisure trips this weekend, an increase of 2 million compared with last year.
Saturday was the busiest day on the roads, with congestion on the routes to popular destinations, including Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the West Country.
Queues of up to two hours [4]were initially reported at the Port of Dover on Saturday morning, as thousands faced heavy traffic with diversions on the M20. By lunchtime queues were reduced to 40 minutes.
Holidaymakers were stuck in queues of up to two hours on the motorway
Credit: i-Images/Martyn Wheatley
National Highways said there were also severe delays on the M1, M4, M40, M25 and M6 motorways. In Liverpool the M57 was closed in both directions between J6-7 because of flooding.
Mick Lynch, head of the RMT union, said strikes would continue until a new pay settlement for workers is reached.
Further action is planned for Sept 2, while members of the train drivers union, Aslef, are set to walk out on Sept 1.
Workers from 14 train operators are taking part in Saturday’s strike, which is its 24th since last summer.
Some train operators were unable to run any services and others were operating a significantly reduced timetable.
‘No services all day’
Trains started later than usual on Saturday morning and would finish earlier while some areas will have no services all day.
The Gatwick Express did not run on Saturday and on Friday. Thousands of air passengers were affected when British Airways and EasyJet cancelled flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick.
BA cancelled 50 domestic and European flights to and from destinations including Rome and Copenhagen, citing adverse weather conditions.
EasyJet cancelled 10 flights between Gatwick and Edinburgh, Faro, Milan, Nantes and Valencia, leaving passengers stranded overnight.
A BA spokesman said: “Like other airlines, due to adverse weather conditions experienced in the London area and across Europe, we’ve made some minor adjustments to our short-haul schedule.
Some train operators were unable to run any services
Credit: George Cracknell Wright
“We’ve contacted affected customers to apologise and offer them rebooking options or a full refund.”
At Dover, motorists were asked to use the main routes into the port to avoid causing disruption to local residents.
Dover port said on social media: “Holidaymakers heading to France are subject to French border checks by Police Aux Frontieres on arrival at the Port of Dover.
“The current average processing time ahead of French border controls is 90 minutes.”
DFDS, which runs services across the channel, said drivers should also allow two hours to complete border and check-in controls.
The company said: “We are expecting a busy day. We highly recommend all customers have a confirmed reservation by visiting our website before arriving at the Port of Dover.
“Please allow 120 minutes to complete border and check-in controls on arrival.”
‘Designed to target passengers’
Ahead of Saturday’s strike, the RDG said the action had been “designed to deliberately target passengers who want to enjoy various sporting events, festivals, and the end of the summer holidays”.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The Government has played its part to try and end these disputes by facilitating fair and reasonable pay offers, but union leaders refuse to allow their members to vote on them.
“By cynically targeting the bank holiday weekend, and driving more passengers away from train travel when our railways are already losing £10 million a day even without industrial action, the RMT’s strikes are damaging its own industry’s future.”
As well as a new pay deal, the RMT is demanding an end to job losses resulting from the closure of hundreds of ticket offices.
More than 460,000 people have responded to a consultation on the plans and a protest is being held opposite Downing Street on Aug 31, a day before the consultation ends.
Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary, said: “The Government is not serious about settling this dispute which is leading to further disruption.
“Rail operators are not being given a mandate to make a new offer that we can put to members in a referendum.”
References
- ^ latest round of train strikes (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ bank holiday plans. (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ dispute over pay and working conditions. (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Queues of up to two hours (www.telegraph.co.uk)