Rail services in parts of England grind to halt in first of three train strikes this week

Rail services in parts of England person crushed to a halt pinch The first of three train strikes this week taking spot arsenic The long-running conflict betwixt The unions and The authorities complete pay, jobs and conditions continues.

A 24-hour onslaught by members of The driver’s national Aslef is nether measurement and a further time of business action is planned for Saturday, The time of The FA Cup final.

Rail operators person said services will beryllium severely reduced and person urged passengers to scheme their travel earlier travelling.

About 40% of trains will beryllium moving but location will beryllium wide location variations, pinch nary services connected networks including Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Northern, Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink and Northern.

In addition, unit and position unit who are members of RMT will return business action connected Friday. Approximately half of normal services will run.

Mick Whelan, The wide caput of Aslef, said nary negotiations aimed astatine resolving The bitter statement were taking place, while The Department for Transport (DfT) said it had “facilitated a adjacent and reasonable salary offer”.

Joining a picket statement astatine Newcastle station, Whelan said: “There are nary negotiations since they came retired pinch yet different woody that contained each our ‘red lines’. If you walk months in a room, show group things aren’t acceptable to you, past they nutrient a woody that contains those things past they are mounting The woody up to fail.

“That is simply a deliberate enactment connected behalf of some The authorities and The group that we’re dealing with. They do not apparently want a resolution.”

He added: “They look to want (a) thousands of per cent productivity (increase) for a 20% salary cut.”

The strikes travel aft Aslef and RMT rejected a salary connection from The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents obstruction operators. Both unions person said The authorities is preventing The train companies from making an acceptable offer, which ministers deny.

UKHospitality has said The upcoming business action will costs The manufacture £132m in sales.

Whelan said location was “no waning in enthusiasm” from train drivers to proceed taking business action.

He added: “We are wished to get a solution and stay in this for The agelong haul. It is clip for The authorities to measurement backmost from interference which is preventing a woody – drivers, in statement pinch different workers, merit a salary emergence aft 4 years without 1 and ostentation moving complete The past 12 months northbound of 10%.”

The RDG said it expected that services would beryllium severely reduced, pinch variations crossed The web and nary services astatine each in immoderate areas.

It said fans wanting to recreation from Manchester to London for The FA Cup last betwixt Manchester City and Manchester United should not do truthful connected Saturday, The time of The match.

An RDG spokesperson said: “The upcoming obstruction strikes called by The Aslef and RMT activity will not only impact our passengers’ regular commute, but will besides effect those travelling to and from The FA Cup last and different events crossed The country, causing disappointment and vexation for tens of thousands of people.

“It will besides inconvenience families who person been looking guardant and person planned their half-term holidays. It will besides further load our group who person already mislaid thousands of pounds astatine a clip of financial strain.

“We understand The effect of these strikes connected individuals and businesses alike, and we Can only apologise for this unnecessary and damaging disruption.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Not contented pinch impacting The hundreds of thousands of group who person looked guardant to these events each twelvemonth round, unions are besides targeting their ain members’ pockets by forcing them to miss retired connected salary each clip they strike.

“The authorities has facilitated a adjacent and reasonable salary offer, now national leaders must do The correct point and put this to their members.”