UK rail passengers face fresh wave of strikes

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UK rail passengers face another week of travel disruption after train drivers announced further strikes in a long-running dispute over pay.

The Aslef union on Monday unveiled plans for a wave of industrial action between January 30 and February 5, with drivers at different operators walking out on each day.

Drivers’ strikes typically cause sweeping disruption on affected routes, with very few train services running. Aslef said its strikes would mean that drivers would walk out over five days:

• Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Thameslink, South Western Railway and SWR Island Line on Tuesday, January 30.

• Northern Trains and TransPennine Trains on Wednesday, January 31.

• C2C, Greater Anglia and LNER on Friday, February 2.

• Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway and West Midlands Trains on Saturday, February 3.

• Chiltern, CrossCountry and GWR on Monday, February 5.

The drivers will also refuse to work their rest days from Monday, January 29, to Tuesday, February 6.

The planned strikes will be the first that could be effected by newly passed anti-strike legislation, which allows ministers to enforce minimum service levels, requiring a certain number of staff to work to ensure some service continues.

Under the legislation, operators could mandate that 40 per cent of lines remain open on strike days.

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said the new law “won’t ease industrial strife. It will just make it worse.”

Aslef has held 14 one-day strikes since the dispute with the government and train operating companies began in the summer of 2022. 

The union is demanding pay rises to help its members deal with high inflation, and in April last year rejected an offer of an 8 per cent rise over two years, tied to significant reforms of working practices. In November, UK inflation stood at 3.9 per cent, with December’s figures due to be released on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “This is extremely disappointing. Not least to commuters, who have already been so badly hit by Aslef’s decision to continually strike.

“Aslef drivers continue to be paid far above what the average person in the UK receives. Rail companies have made a fair and reasonable offer, and we would encourage them to step back from this action.”

Whelan called on the government and train companies to return with a “realistic” offer, without offering further details. He has previously rejected the reforms that train companies have demanded, as revenues remain well below pre-pandemic levels. 

“We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute,” Whelan said. 

The Rail Delivery Group, which speaks for train operators, said drivers had “been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly £65,000 for a four-day week without overtime”.

“Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute,” it added.