Rail strike chaos hits millions
MILLIONS of commuters face days of rail chaos as unions mount strikes on one of Britain’s busiest train services and the London Underground.
A 24-hour walkout on the Tube and a 48-hour strike on First Great Western services began last night, with disruption threatening to run until the weekend.
The London Underground strike – over pay, conditions and rosters for a new all-night Tube service – has hit 4million commuters, as well as thousands headed to Wimbledon.
Last night Oxford Circus station saw hundreds queue to get on the Underground shortly before the walkout began at 6.30pm, lining Oxford Street in droves. The station had to be closed at times to cope with the crush as crowds built.
Jen McGee, who is a runner for STV, said: ‘I’ve only lived in London for a week so this is a new experience for me. I didn’t think it was going to be this bad and I don’t really know how I am going to get home.’
Meanwhile at Green Park station, people were forced to crush into carriages on the final services. Hundreds of others were left on the platform.
Downing Street condemned the strikes as ‘unacceptable and unjustified’ while London Mayor Boris Johnson said the Tube walkout was ‘a totally unnecessary, cynically timed and politically motivated strike’. There will be no Underground services today and possible disruption tomorrow morning.
The Tube action coincides with the 48-hour stoppage by workers on First Great Western. The dispute over staffing issues includes whether drivers or guards will close automated doors on new Hitachi Super Express trains. The RMT union said it was campaigning to avoid job losses.
This will disrupt trains to and from London Paddington and cause ‘significant’ disruption for First Great Western’s 300,000 passengers a day.
The strike began at 6.30pm yesterday and will run until 6.30pm tomorrow, though disruption is expected on Saturday due to a ban on overtime.
FGW trains between South Wales and London will run hourly instead of half hourly, and services to Devon and Cornwall are being reduced to every two hours. The rail firm said it can operate 65 per cent of its services including almost all of its London and Thames Valley commuter routes, which account for half its passengers.
On the Tube, some 20,000 union members – including £50,00-a-year drivers – from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Transport Salaried Staffs Association and Unite are taking part in the strike.
The dispute is over pay for the night-time service, due to start in September. The unions rejected management’s offer of an average 2 per cent pay rise and an extra £2,000 for drivers on the all-night service, as well as a £500 ‘launch bonus’ to staff on the night Tube lines and stations.
‘Unnecessary and cynically timed’