Mark Ahsmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
It was a tale of woes for commuters in Britain this morning as the trade union industrial action entered its third day.
Tourists wishing to visit the UK may wish to reconsider their dates as movements as the city of London faces transportation hiccups arising from train workers’ strike.
Trains on some of the busiest routes in the country were at a standstill, with commuters on services into London among passengers suffering travel misery.
Members of Aslef (ASLEF is Britain’s trade union for train drivers) walked out for the third strike in the past four days, crippling services, especially in East Anglia and the South East of England.
The strike hit c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Great Northern, Stansted Express and Thameslink trains today, Monday, April 8, 2024.
The social media is agog with comments from commuters affected by the development, with some expressing happiness that they could work from home.
Those who had to be in their places of work either used a car or were forced to get on the packed buses.
Aslef is embroiled in a nearly two-year-long dispute over pay, with no sign of a breakthrough and no talks planned. The union says the dispute has cost the industry more than £ 2 billion, far more than it would have cost to resolve the conflict.
South Western Railway said a significantly reduced service will operate on a small number of lines between 7 am and 7 pm, while the rest of its network will be closed.
Southern said no trains will be running across most of its network, with a limited shuttle service running non-stop between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.
Southeastern said most of its routes and stations will be closed. There will be an extremely limited service where trains are running and the operator advised customers not to travel.
A statement said: ‘If you do travel, expect severe disruption, plan ahead and allow much more time for your journey.
‘Trains that are running will be extremely busy, they start later and finish early. You may be unable to board trains at some stations, and we estimate that there could be queues for up to two hours due to the very limited service.
‘Only 29 out of 165 Southeastern stations will be open. No rail replacement buses will serve stations that are closed.’
No c2c trains will run. Rob Mullen, c2c’s managing director, said: ‘I’m really disappointed that an agreement with Aslef hasn’t been reached.
‘The impact of this ongoing action is significant for our customers and colleagues. I’m hopeful that further meetings with the unions are productive and see progress made toward concluding this challenging time for the railway.’
Greater Anglia said its first trains of the day will start later and the last trains finish earlier than normal, excluding the Stansted Express.
An hourly train service will operate on the following Greater Anglia routes: Norwich/Colchester and London Liverpool Street; Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street; Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street.
A bi-hourly train service will run between Cambridge and London.
No other Greater Anglia services will operate on any other routes.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said his members remained solidly behind the industrial action, and criticised the Government and rail companies for the lack of contact over the past year.
The Government introduced a new law last year aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes, but none of the train companies have opted to use it.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: ‘Train companies are working through plans to manage the unnecessary disruption to our passengers caused by this damaging industrial action.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike, targeting passengers and preventing their own members from voting on the pay offer that remains on the table.
‘Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the Transport Secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table – taking train drivers’ average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000.’
National Express was adding thousands of extra seats across its UK-wide coach network.
The coach operator was expecting to carry over 13 per cent more passengers during the strike weekend and added around 100 more coach departures on popular routes to meet customer demand.
