Only one in five UK train services to run on second consecutive day of strikes

Read More

More disruption awaits commuters returning to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday, the second of five consecutive days of rail strikes.

Once again, much of Britain’s rail network will not be operating, with only about a fifth of trains expected to run, leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on some urban and intercity lines.

Passengers have been advised to travel only if necessary during the latest strike action, while those trains which are running are expected to operate only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Wednesday marks the second day of the week’s first 48-hour strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Network Rail and 14 train operators. The second two-day strike will take place on Friday and Saturday.

Among the 40,000 RMT members striking this week are signalling staff. As a result, most trains in Wales, Scotland and less populous parts of England will not run at all, while there may only be one train an hour on some mainline routes.

In addition, train drivers who are members of the Aslef union will strike for 24 hours on Thursday, the middle day between the two phases of RMT action.

The strike by drivers is likely to bring yet more disruption, as there will not be any trains running by some of the 15 operators affected, which include Southeastern, Thameslink, Avanti and TransPennine Express.

The latest strikes follow a wave of industrial action over the Christmas period, which also included an overtime ban that ended on Monday night and hit certain train operators hard.

Even as the current strike got under way, Downing Street and Network Rail expressed optimism on Tuesday that a deal could soon be reached.

Network Rail’s chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller, has suggested the pay offer for rail staff would not be improved, but claimed better communication about the deal would begin to win over union members.

On Tuesday, both sides in the dispute hit out at the other for allegedly preventing a resolution to the long-running row over pay, jobs and working conditions on the railway.

Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary, has blamed the government for blocking a settlement, saying there was “an unprecedented level of ministerial interference”.

The transport secretary, Mark Harper, denied the government had blocked any path to a settlement.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, has apologised to passengers for the ongoing disruption.

It said before Christmas that it had made its best and final offer to the unions, and warned that the dispute would only be resolved by agreeing reforms to working arrangements.

Network Rail anticipates fresh talks will take place with the unions next week, but the Guardian understands a date and time have not yet been fixed.