Passengers are warned of further disruption on railways

SERVICES ‘SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED’ BY STRIKE

EAST Midlands Railway and Network Rail have confirmed more train strikes will go ahead tomorrow, causing disruption to many people travelling in Derbyshire.

East Midlands Railway confirmed services will be significantly reduced as members of the RMT Union strike over pay, jobs and conditions.

Customers are asked to only travel by rail if necessary, or to plan ahead leaving extra time for disruption. It is expected that services on Thursday will suffer a knock-on effect.

Customers have been urged to travel earlier as trains have to be back at the depot by 6.30pm. Seat reservations will be suspended.

Services will operate as follows:

■ All EMR services will operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm only

■ One train per hour between Nottingham and London

■ One train per hour between Sheffield and London

■ One train per hour between Corby and London

■ One train per hour between Derby and Matlock

■ One train per hour between Derby and Nottingham

■ One train per hour between Leicester and Nottingham

■ One train per hour between Nottingham and Sheffield

■ All other routes will be closed.

■ On Thursday, services will start at 7am, with some reductions throughout the day.

Will Rogers, managing director for EMR, said: “We are disappointed the RMT has again decided to opt for counterproductive strikes rather than working with the industry to find a deal that is acceptable for our people, our passengers and for taxpayers. As a result, there will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services and other lines will have a reduced level of service. There will also be a smaller impact on the day after the strike.

“I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys next week – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”

Network Rail said a very limited timetable will be available across the country, with about 20 per cent of services running. Some parts of the country will have no rail services.

The company said all train operators are affected by the strike, regardless of whether they have an individual dispute with the RMT, as signallers control train movements across the country. The strike will affect passengers travelling for events such as the women’s Euro 2022 semi-final in Milton Keynes tomorrow and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday.

After talks failed to resolve a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members are more determined than ever to secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions.

“Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new. In fact Network Rail have upped the ante, threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50% cuts to maintenance work if we did not withdraw our planned strike action.

“The train operating companies have put driver-only operations on the table along with ransacking our members’ terms and conditions.

“RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone. The Government need to stop their interference in this dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us.”

Further strike action planned on Saturday, July 30, this time by the drivers’ union Aslef, will cause more disruption. Aslef has called strike action across eight train operators and, while this does not directly affect East Midlands Railway, it will have a knock-on impact on services.