Fresh train strikes hit commuters again: Railway stations empty as …
Fury as train strikes grind London to a halt with photos showing empty streets as walkouts deliver £3.5billion blow to pubs and restaurants… and wipe £715million off the rail sector
- Members of drivers’ union Aslef on strike at 16 train operators in England today
- Separate strikes on London Underground today and on Friday were called off
- ** Are you impacted by the rail strikes? Please email: [email protected] **
Rail passengers across Britain endured fresh disruption today because of another strike by train drivers in the bitter and long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef at 16 train operators in England walked out, coinciding with the final day of the Conservative Party[2] conference in Manchester.
Many parts of the UK had no services, with those that do run starting later and finishing earlier than usual. Operators warning of no services today included Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Northern, Southeastern and TransPennine Express.
Drivers from Aslef are also banning overtime throughout this week, which has caused disruption on some operators since Monday and will do so until Friday.
Data from TomTom today showed it took drivers up to 25 per cent longer to make their way through London[3] during the morning rush hour amid increased congestion.
The road travel time per six miles (10km) in the capital at about 9am was 23 minutes and 46 seconds, which was four minutes and 44 seconds above the normal level for the time of day. There was a total of 2,147 traffic jams covering 898 miles (1,444km).
Journey times in Birmingham[4] and Manchester were both up 22 per cent at the same time this morning, while it was up 18 per cent in Liverpool and 15 per cent in Leeds.
But the congestion came despite photographs showing streets in the City of London looking empty during today’s morning rush hour as staff worked from home.
Meanwhile separate planned strikes on the London Underground today and on Friday were called off at the last minute[5] by the the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT[6]) yesterday after ‘significant progress’ in talks over jobs and conditions.
UKHospitality estimates strike disruption over the past year has cost the industry £3.5billion in lost sales – a figure it said will rise further due to the latest strikes.
Strikes have cost the rail industry £716million since the feud began in June last year – with taxpayers paying £175million a month to keep it going, reported City AM[7].
ARE YOU IMPACTED BY THE RAIL STRIKES? Please email: [email protected]
Rail passengers arrive at a deserted London Victoria station as the Aslef strike begins today
Trains at a very quiet London King’s Cross station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
A passengers walks through the empty concourse at London Euston station this morning
Rail passengers wait on seating at London Victoria this morning as the Aslef strike begins
Mick Whelan (second right), Aslef’s general secretary, joined striking workers who had brought a life-sized cut-out of the Where’s Wally? cartoon character with Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s face imposed on it to a picket line outside London Euston station this morning
Aslef said train companies have always failed to employ enough drivers to provide a proper service.
Which train operators are affected by the Aslef rail strike today?
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef at 16 train operators in England are on strike today, affecting these networks:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Great Northern
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- Heathrow Express
- Island Line
- LNER
- London Northwestern Railway
- Northern
- South Western Railway
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Stansted Express
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
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Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said today that the rail strike was ‘solid, nothing is running’.
He joined striking workers who had brought a life-sized cut-out of the Where’s Wally? cartoon character with Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s face imposed on it to a picket line outside London Euston station.
Mr Whelan said: ‘What we are seeing from the Tory conference is the managed decline of our railways.
‘We are striking today because we still haven’t seen the transport minister or the companies for the best part of six months.
‘The mood of the train drivers in the UK is that we will keep striking until we get a resolution that suits them.’
He also said the Government is to blame for the strikes, adding: ‘We don’t have a problem in Scotland. We don’t have a problem in Wales.
‘We don’t have a problem in freight or Eurostar or with all the other companies. It is a Westminster political problem caused by Westminster.’
The usually busy concourse at Euston was practically empty during this morning rush hour.
Staff could be seen at three information points but there were just a few passengers there to ask questions.
The shutters were down at the ticket office which had a poster pinned to it notifying people of the travel disruption.
It read: ‘We’re sorry. Due to industrial action there will be no Avanti West Coast services operating today.’
A similar message was played over the loudspeakers.
Plasterer Luke Askew, 47, was trying to figure out how to get back to his home in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, after being caught out by today’s rail strike.
Empty roads at the Bank of England in the City of London during today’s morning rush hour
Empty roads in the City of London this morning which looks empty at rush hour today
Lime Street in the City of London is empty this morning during the Aslef rail strike
Empty roads in the City of London today as people work from home due to the Aslef strike
Cornhill in the City of London looks empty during rush hour this morning
Empty roads in the City of London this morning which looks empty at rush hour today
Mr Askew, who had just enjoyed a holiday in Turkey, thinks his journey from Euston will take at least another three hours and involve paying out for a taxi and coach trips.
How road journey times are up 25% today
TomTom data on the time taken to travel six miles (10km) at about 9am today in England’s biggest five cities shows that journey times have risen significantly by as much as a quarter.
London – up 25%
- 23 minutes 46 seconds (up 4 minutes 44 seconds on average)
- 2,147 traffic jams covering total of 898 miles (1444km)
Birmingham – up 22%
- 18 minutes 34 seconds (up 3 minutes 21 seconds on average)
- 720 traffic jams covering total of 296 miles (475.8km)
Manchester – up 22%
- 21 minutes 38 seconds (up 3 minutes 58 seconds on average)
- 357 traffic james covering total of 176 miles (283.3km)
Liverpool – up 18%
- 19 minutes 30 seconds (up 2 minutes 58 seconds on average)
- 150 traffic james covering total of 54 miles (87km)
Leeds – up 15%
- 18 minutes 20 seconds (up 2 minutes 25 seconds on average)
- 224 traffic james covering total of 95 miles (152.6km)
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He said: ‘It is all pretty annoying and has spoiled the end of my holiday. It is pretty frustrating. I have not been to London for about 20 years and I will not be coming back for a while after this.
‘I am not really familiar with the area and I do not think there has been much information about what you should do.’
Bakshish Kaur, 29, found herself having to rearrange her travel plans to get to Glasgow after finding that her train from London Euston was cancelled.
She said: ‘It has all been a major hassle, especially for someone who is travelling solo. I am travelling from London to Glasgow. The train has got cancelled and I got no information from the railways.
‘Now it is costing me a bomb to book a flight to Glasgow but that is precisely what I have done.
‘Fortunately I found myself one of the last four or five seats that were left in the flight, so now I am rushing to the airport. I will have to re-pack my suitcase for the flight.
‘I am going for a leisure trip and this spoils my day today. I was supposed to be there by 3pm but that will not happen and it is impacting my entire schedule.’
In an earlier statement, Mr Whelan said the Government was preventing a settlement to the year-long dispute.
He said: ‘Our members have not had a pay rise for four years – since 2019 – and that’s not right when prices have soared in that time.
‘Train drivers, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy four years ago.’
Mr Whelan accused Transport Secretary Mark Harper of ‘hiding’, saying the two had not met since last December despite a series of strikes this year which have caused huge disruption.
He said: ‘He holds the purse strings. The train operating companies have told us they cannot act without his say so. He’s the puppet master, but he’s in hiding.’
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: ‘There is a deal on the table for Aslef that would take average driver salaries to £65,000 for a four-day week – that’s more than double the average UK salary and many drivers top up their income further by working overtime.
Passengers look at the departure board at London King’s Cross station this morning
London Bridge in the capital is deserted around 9am this morning amid the Aslef train strike
Passengers look at the departure board at London King’s Cross station this morning
An almost empty London Paddington station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
A member of staff works at London King’s Cross this morning as the Aslef strike begins
Trains at a very quiet London King’s Cross station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
Staff at a very quiet London King’s Cross station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (second right) on a picket line at London Euston today
Passengers at a very quiet London King’s Cross station today as the Aslef rail strike begins
A passenger walks through a very quiet London King’s Cross station today amid the rail strike
‘We are ready and willing to talk to Aslef’s leaders so we can end this damaging dispute – but any talks about pay also need to address working practices that date back decades.
‘The industry depends on a monthly injection of up to £175 million from the taxpayer because revenues are still 30% below pre-pandemic levels – while simultaneously facing unprecedented changes in customer travel patterns.
‘This isn’t just costing taxpayers, it’s costing businesses eye-watering sums, and all because Aslef’s leadership refuse to discuss much-needed changes to ways of working.
‘It is obvious that the sector can only fund a pay rise by changing how it delivers services so it can respond to that transformation in how the public use the railway.
‘That means putting managers – rather than unions – in charge of planning shifts. It means allowing managers to respond to unexpected staff absences so they can reduce the last-minute cancellations that so frustrate our customers.
‘It means giving our customers more reliable train services when they actually want to use them – particularly on Sundays. That is how any industry survives and thrives.’
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘The Government spent £31 billion of taxpayers’ money – £1,000 per household – to protect rail workers’ jobs during the pandemic.
‘There is a fair and reasonable offer on the table that would take train drivers’ salaries from £60,000 to £65,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week.
Trains at a very quiet London King’s Cross station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
A passengers walks through the empty concourse at London Euston station this morning
An almost empty London Paddington station this morning as the Aslef rail strike begins
Rail passengers wait at London Euston station this morning as the Aslef strike begins
Traffic on the A102(M) Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich, South East London, today
Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at London Euston station this morning
A passengers walks through the empty concourse at London Euston station this morning
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan on a picket line at London Euston station this morning
An information sign detailing strike action at Manchester Piccadilly train station today
Queuing today on the A102(M) Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich, South East London
‘Aslef’s leaders won’t put this offer to their members and instead continue to strike, damaging their own industry in the process.’
It comes after separate planned strikes on the London Underground have been called off by the RMT following ‘significant progress’ in talks over jobs and conditions.
Around 3,000 members of RMT were due to walk out on Wednesday and Friday.
The RMT said that following talks at the conciliation service Acas it has managed to save jobs, prevent detrimental changes to rosters and secure protection of earnings around grading changes.
The union said: ‘The significant progress means that key elements have been settled although there remains wider negotiations to be had in the job, pensions and working agreements dispute.’
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘I congratulate all our members who were prepared to take strike action and our negotiations team for securing this victory in our Tube dispute.
‘Without the unity and industrial power of our members, there is no way we would have been able to make the progress we have.
‘We still remain in dispute over outstanding issues around pensions and working agreements and will continue to pursue a negotiated settlement.’
Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said: ‘We are pleased that the RMT has withdrawn its planned industrial action this week and that the dispute on our change proposals in stations is now resolved.
‘This is good news for London and we will continue to work closely with our trade unions as we evolve London Underground to ensure we can continue to support the capital in the most effective way.’
Acas chief conciliator Marina Glasgow said: ‘After four days of Acas talks, we are pleased that significant progress has been made through Acas to help resolve this area of dispute.’
ARE YOU IMPACTED BY THE RAIL STRIKES? Please email: [email protected]
References
- ^ Mark Duell (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Conservative Party (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ London (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ separate planned strikes on the London Underground today and on Friday were called off at the last minute (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ RMT (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ City AM (www.cityam.com)