DERAILED AGAIN
Another weekend of train strikes as drivers walk out
RAIL users face yet more chaos as train drivers walk out in a long-running dispute over pay.
Five major operators cancelled all rail services yesterday as staff joined the first picket lines in a fresh wave of industrial action.
Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern halted all trains.
Passengers are also being urged not to travel today as six more companies face strike action.
Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, LNER, Heathrow Express, Northern and TransPennine Express have stopped all trains with services covering London to Scotland, Wales, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire affected.
Normal services resume tomorrow before a third day of strikes on Monday.
Union bosses say the majority of the public support the strikes and claim the Tories don’t care about train drivers, whose salaries have stagnated for five years.
Mick Whelan, generalsecretary of Aslef, said: “We’ve had people shaking our hands, hooting their horns and waving at us. We haven’t had one disgruntled person yet. There’s far greater empathy from the public than you might believe.”
The chaos has been compounded by an Aslef ban on overtime affecting 16 companies until today.
Further delays and cancellations hit Ealing, West London, when a freight train derailed yesterday.
Monday’s strike will affect c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway and Thameslink services.
The Department for Transport said: “Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike.
“The Transport Secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table – taking drivers’ average salaries from £60,000 to £65,000.”