Railway chaos as drivers take day off for World Cup final
... even though England were knocked out
TRAIN staff caused chaos yesterday by taking the day off to watch the World Cup final and enjoy the weather, forcing bosses to cancel or delay hundreds of services.
Working on a Sunday is counted as voluntary overtime for train drivers, and their contracts allow them to miss shifts if they provide seven days’ notice.
Great Western Railway (GWR), Northern and CrossCountry services were disrupted after fewer train crews than normal agreed to work.
Until England lost to Croatia in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, there had been a chance that the team might play in the final yesterday, and staff are thought to have taken the day off in advance. On Friday, GWR warned there would be disruption yesterday because of a ‘significantly reduced number of staff’ due to the football, the heatwave and the imminent start of the school holidays.
But rail passengers affected by delays and cancellations across the country vented their fury on social media. One told of seeing a train being cancelled ‘when it’s on the platform in front of you’ because their weren’t enough staff. Others reported tempers fraying in packed carriages after overcrowding meant that seat reservations were cancelled.
Some said they were sold tickets for trains minutes before they were cancelled. Passengers had to cram on to trains with fewer carriages than expected and were faced with inaccurate information displays at stations, buffet carts running out of stock and out-of-order train toilets.
Northern said almost 200 services were withdrawn yesterday, with the worst affected areas including Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
A spokesman said: ‘Many Northern staff have made themselves unavailable for work.
‘Unfortunately, we have had to cancel more than 170 services across our network and it is likely more will be cancelled as we continue to plan our services.’
There was also disruption on CrossCountry trains thanks to a shortage of conductors. Passenger Cate Reynolds tweeted: ‘Emailing someone at 17.30 when they’re travelling at 7.00 the next morning does not give ample opportunity to change their travel plans/tickets/hotel reservations... disgusting service given you’ve charged me £100 per ticket!’
An email from GWR sent to passengers due to travel yesterday had only warned of ‘possible disruption’ to their journeys, rather than chaos.
Full refunds are available for holders of advance tickets, or passengers can use their tickets today instead.
Besides the World Cup, hot weather has been blamed for train delays in recent weeks.
As well as problems caused by staff requesting time off to head to the beach, rails can buckle in intense heat, and some train speed limits have been reduced this month. Nick Brown, chief operating officer of the rail operator Govia, told MPs last week that drivers had refused to put themselves forward for work on Sunday.
The company relies heavily on staff volunteering to work on socalled rest days to ensure it has enough to provide a full service. Tory MP Grant Shapps responded: ‘Our railways must be the only public service where it is voluntary whether to turn up for work on a Sunday.
‘Millions will be relying on trains this Sunday. They should not be leaving it to chance as to whether a driver turns up.’