Train strikes hit FA Cup final and Epsom Derby
ANEW wave of train strikes has disrupted services and will affect hundreds of thousands of spectators travelling to events on Saturday such as the FA Cup final and the Epsom Derby.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, told the Press Association news agency “there are no negotiations” in the bitter dispute over pay and conditions.
The Department for Transport (DfT) insisted it has “facilitated a fair and reasonable pay offer” from train operators to drivers.
Aslef members at 13 train companies walked out yesterday, meaning several operators such as Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Northern and Thameslink had no services.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has called a strike for Friday, while Aslef members will walk out again on Saturday, causing major disruption to football fans travelling to London for the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
Hundreds of coaches are being laid on for supporters as no trains will run between Manchester and the capital on the day of the match.
Fans travelling by road transport from Manchester are being advised by transport bosses to take specific routes depending on which team they support, in an attempt to minimise congestion.
They are also being urged to use team-specific motorway service areas.
Saturday’s strike will also affect people travelling to the annual Epsom Derby horse race at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, which is expected to attract more than 100,000 spectators.
Many fans attending Beyonce’s concert at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the England v Ireland cricket match at Lord’s – both in London – will also be affected by the walkout.
Joining a picket line at Newcastle station yesterday, Mr Whelan said: “There are no negotiations since they came out with yet another deal that contained all our ‘red lines’.
“If you spend months in a room, tell people things aren’t acceptable to you, then they produce a deal that contains those things then they are setting the deal up to fail.
“That is a deliberate act on behalf of both the Government and the people that we’re dealing with.
“They do not apparently want a resolution.”
Asked about the disruption caused to football supporters attending the FA Cup final, he said: “I truly don’t want to do that.”
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said around 40% of trains are running on Aslef strike days, with wide regional variations.
On the RMT strike day tomorrow, around 50% of normal services will run.
Aslef also starts an overtime ban today that could cause disruption, especially in and out of London.
Sylvia Lewandowska, 46, an NHS orbital prosthetist at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, said her journey to work from London Paddington yesterday was delayed by an hour, forcing her to reschedule four appointments.
She said: “I have to wait an hour for my train so all my patients will have to wait.
“Whatever the reason is for strikes, they shouldn’t affect working people who can’t change their situation.
“It’s affecting my patients because they are from different parts of the UK and many are elderly.
“I’ll try to work late if patients are happy to wait but others might have other things to attend.
“I can’t do anything about it.” Another delayed passenger at Paddington, Uwe Kraeker, 60, an accounts director from Freiburg, Germany, said: “I just cancelled my meeting with my colleague in Newport.
“I was supposed to get the train at 7.48am but it was cancelled. It’s pretty frustrating.
“I understand people fight for better working conditions and wages but when they strike on public transportation they take the rest of the country hostage.”
An RDG spokesman said the strikes are causing “disappointment and frustration for tens of thousands of people”, including families who have planned half-term holidays.
Passengers who have bought tickets can obtain refunds if their train is cancelled or rescheduled.
The unions say they have not been given a pay offer they can recommend to their members.
Officials say support for industrial action remains strong among workers as well as the public.
Aslef says train drivers have not had a pay rise for four years.