illions of Brits hoping to get away could face severe travel disruption following the latest strike action by rail workers.
The walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will badly disrupt services, with some parts of the country having no trains at all on what is one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Services are also being disrupted because of a ban on overtime by train drivers in the Aslef union.
The deadlocked dispute is being made worse by a bitter row over controversial plans to close most railway ticket offices.
The strike at 14 train companies on Saturday is expected to see wide variations in services across the country with trains starting later and finishing much earlier than usual.
The lines affected are: Avanti West Coast; C2C, Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; GTR who operates Southern, Thameslink Great Northern and Gatwick Express; Great Western Railway; Greater Anglia; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; South Western Railway; TransPennine Express; West Midlands Trains.
Speaking on Saturday, RMT chief Mick Lynch said: “Train companies invest little or nothing in our railways and make completely unjustifiable profits which they squirrel away in shareholder dividends and bosses pay packets.
“It is a scandal that the travelling public is being ripped off by greedy rail privateers while at the same time the Government oversees a corrupt system and prolongs a rail dispute for political reasons.
“It is high time this profits bonanza gravy train was halted, a deal done with the RMT and the railways returned to public ownership for the good of the country and railway workers.”
The RMT held a strike on Thursday and will stage another walkout on July 29.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said staff will be moved from behind screens and on to station concourses, but unions believe more than 2,000 jobs will be axed.
The RDG said that since the first RMT strike in June 2022, industrial action had cost the sector around £620million.
A statement said: "This has stalled its post-pandemic recovery and threatens its long-term sustainability, pushing the industry in to a spiral decline and risking consequences like cuts to services to make up the shortfall. Revenue levels are still 30 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
"The strikes have hit the wider economy - particularly sectors still recovering from the impact of the pandemic which employ hundreds of thousands of people.
"Analysis by Hospitality UK shows that with the upcoming rail strikes set to cost hospitality £132million in sales, the cumulative impact of the rail strikes is £3.25billion.
"The Night Time Industries Association said their members took a 40 per cent hit on strike days at a time when nearly three-quarters of their members are either just breaking even or losing money due to the wider cost-of-living crisis."
In some areas only around half of train services are expected to run while others will have no services at all.
An RDG spokesperson said: "The rail strikes called by the RMT union and the overtime ban by Aslef will undoubtedly cause some disruption, affecting not only the daily commute of our passengers but also disrupting the plans of families during the summer holidays.
"This will lead to disappointment, frustration, and financial strain for tens of thousands of people. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and understand the impact on individuals and businesses.
"While we are doing all we can to keep trains running, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Monday 17 July and Saturday 29 July, so our advice is to check before you travel."
Picket lines will be mounted outside railway stations across England and workers say they are receiving strong support for their action from the public.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The Government has met the rail unions, listened to them and facilitated improved offers on pay and reform. The union leaders should put these fair and reasonable offers to their members so this dispute can be resolved."
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdGFuZGFyZC5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrL3JhaWwtc3RyaWtlLWp1bHktMjAyMy10cmF2ZWwtbmV3cy11cGRhdGUtcm10LXdoZW4taXMtdGhlLXN0cmlrZS13aGljaC1saW5lLWlzLWFmZmVjdGVkLXN1bW1lci1ob2xpZGF5LWIxMDk2MDkwLmh0bWzSAQA?oc=5
2023-07-22 10:54:17Z
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