Thousands of passengers face delays and disruption on the rail network with train drivers due to go on strike today (Tuesday 30 January).
Members of ASLEF are starting a wave of fresh walkouts in a long-running dispute over pay.
Services are already being affected by a nine-day ban on overtime which started yesterday.
Today, drivers are due to go on strike at Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink – as well as Great Northern – all part of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR).
The strikes are also expected to affect Southeastern and South Western Railway, followed by walkouts at other train operators in the coming days.
South Western Railway urged passengers to only travel if “absolutely necessary”, warning that a significantly reduced service would operate on a limited number of lines.
A statement said: “Large parts of our network will be closed and trains will only run between 7am and 7pm. There will be no services outside of these times.”
Similar levels of disruption are expected at other train operators embroiled in the dispute – and where services do run, they will start later and finish earlier than usual.
Striking drivers are planning to join picket lines outside railway stations.
ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said that some drivers had not had a pay rise for almost five years and he accused the government of “giving up” trying to resolve the row.
The strikes were expected to be the first test of the minimum service levels legislation, aimed at ensuring train operators could run 40 per cent of services.
But none of the train companies are using the new law which the government is also planning to extend to other sectors.
Labour said that it would repeal the law if it won the next general election.
Downing Street expressed disappointment at rail operators who are not using the minimum service levels legislation.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s something the rail operators called for many months ago and the public would rightly expect them to be used if strike action is taking place.”
Asked if No 10 was disappointed with the operators, he said: “Yes, it’s something that we and the public expect them to use.
“It’s ultimately up to train operators to effectively manage their services. We have been as clear as possible that they should be as ready to use all powers available to them to reduce the impact of rail strikes on passengers.”
The Department for Transport said: “ASLEF’s leadership is refusing to let their members vote on an offer that would see the average train driver’s salary increase to £65,000.
“The Transport Secretary and Rail Minister have already facilitated talks that led to this fair and reasonable offer from industry.
“ASLEF bosses should put it to their members so we can resolve the dispute as has already happened with the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions.
“With passenger revenues not having recovered since the pandemic, the taxpayer has had to prop up the railways with £12 billion in the past year alone.
“These strikes will not change the need for urgent workplace reforms that ASLEF continues to block.”
They are starting to lose all public sympathy and are in danger of jeopardising the rail industry itself now so many strikes are starting to make it unviable. Just get on with running the train service.
Most of us have either given up using trains altogether or just adjust our work plans accordingly. The only people being damaged are the train companies, and by extension their employees. How many non-drivers employed at railways will lose their jobs to fund pay increases for drivers I wonder ? How very egalitarian. I suppose that they are not in the same union so they do not count ?
Pure Greed try surviving on OAP pension
They sort-of have a (very feeble) point, I suppose, although I have no sympathy whatsoever with them or ASLEF. The rail companies , whose bosses are awful, take huge salaries and bonuses, like most bosses in what we plebs used to think of as ‘public services’. However, instead of recruiting and training more drivers on realistic salaries, as they should have done, the train bosses have relied on existing drivers doing overtime because, presumably, it’s cheaper and easier And they have all chosen not to implement the minimum service legislation, please note.
Thst includes the three operators directly managed by the DoT. LNER were going to but capitulated when the Union added further strike dates which basically made it impossible for the company to use the minimum service legislation because of the way implementation of it was written.
And yes the TOCs have always taken the easy way out and not recruited sufficient drivers so they could operate the planned services without excessive voluntary overtime yet appear shocked when drivers don’t want to work it.