Second day of action set to bring disruption across Britain’s rail network
Rachel Hall
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 13 train operators are staging their second strike of the week today after no deal on pay and conditions was reached in tense talks earlier in the week.
Only around one in five trains will run and mainly on main lines during the day, making travel onerous for many passengers across the UK. Network Rail has said that rail services today will “look much like they did on Tuesday”, starting later in the morning and ending early in the evening, around 6.30pm. Passengers have been asked to “only travel by train if necessary”.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef on Greater Anglia trains will strike on Thursday in a separate dispute over pay. The company, which is also affected by the RMT strike, advised passengers to travel only if it was necessary.
Meanwhile, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has announced that its members at Merseyrail have accepted a 7.1% pay offer.
I’ll be keeping you updated today with all the key events in the UK strikes. Please do get in touch at [email protected] if you’ve spotted anything we’ve missed.
Good Morning Britain’s Nitya Gracianna Rajan has tweeted that Newport’s main transport hub saw a rise in passenger numbers on Tuesday compared with the previous week, and is putting on more double decker buses along regional commuter routes as a result.
#RailStrikes day 2: the biggest transport hub in Newport, Wales saw a rise in passenger numbers on Tuesday, compared to last week. More double decker buses have been provided along regional commuter routes in anticipation of demand during rush hour this morning. https://t.co/LJithbjldj
— Nitya Gracianna Rajan (@NityaGRajan) June 23, 2022
Second day of action set to bring disruption across Britain’s rail network
Rachel Hall
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 13 train operators are staging their second strike of the week today after no deal on pay and conditions was reached in tense talks earlier in the week.
Only around one in five trains will run and mainly on main lines during the day, making travel onerous for many passengers across the UK. Network Rail has said that rail services today will “look much like they did on Tuesday”, starting later in the morning and ending early in the evening, around 6.30pm. Passengers have been asked to “only travel by train if necessary”.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef on Greater Anglia trains will strike on Thursday in a separate dispute over pay. The company, which is also affected by the RMT strike, advised passengers to travel only if it was necessary.
Meanwhile, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has announced that its members at Merseyrail have accepted a 7.1% pay offer.
I’ll be keeping you updated today with all the key events in the UK strikes. Please do get in touch at [email protected] if you’ve spotted anything we’ve missed.
Gwyn Topham
The Guardian’s Gwyn Topham has the full report on how last night’s talks played out, the failure of which has led to today’s second day of strikes.
The head of the RMT hit out at the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, for “wrecking negotiations” in the dispute over pay, working conditions and proposed “modernisation” plans to cut costs after the pandemic, he writes.
Shapps said the RMT claim was “a total lie”, while Network Rail claimed the union had walked away from talks.