Festive chaos as train staff press on with 27-day strike

COMMUTERS and Christmas shoppers are set to face huge disruption after talks to avert an almost month-long strike by rail workers broke down.

Members of the RMT union on South Western Railway will strike for 27 days from December 2 in a long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains.

The company runs services to and from London Waterloo, the country’s busiest station.

On its website, SWR said it expects to run more than half of its normal weekday services and would prioritise capacity during peak period – but buses would replace trains on some routes.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said it had been in discussion with the conciliatory service Acas for two days but accused SWR of failing to provide proposals to resolve the issue.

‘Throughout these talks SWR have not shown any intention of moving the issues at the heart of the dispute forwards, despite verbal assurances in earlier discussions,’ he added. ‘It has become increasingly clear that they are not interested in reaching a settlement at this time. As a result of the company attitude all planned action remains on, and the union is committed to ensuring the safest possible method of operation.’

Mr Cash said the RMT was open to discussions with SWR ‘at any time’.

The rail operator called the strikes unnecessary and said it was ‘very disappointed’ talks had broken down ‘despite promising to keep guards on all our trains and promising that they will have a safety-critical role’.

SWR said it was committed to finding a solution, adding: ‘In the meantime, our focus has to be on planning and delivering a train service for our customers.’