Hogmanay strikes disrupt rail service

Workers at two rail companies supported strikes that disrupted New Year’s Eve train services. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport trade union on South Western Railway (SWT) and Crosscountry walked out for 24 hours in separate disputes over the role of guards and working conditions.

The RMT claimed there were 141 unstaffed SWT stations, which would become “crime hot spots and no-go areas for vulnerable and disabled passengers” if there were no guards.