by The scale of the disruption commuters will face next week during the rail and tube strikes has become clear as political pressure over the dispute has mounted, with furious clashes between the Government and Labour.
Half of Britain’s rail lines are to be closed during strikes on June 21, 23 and 25 by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, while Transport for London (TfL) “strongly encouraged” people not to travel on the London Underground on June 21. due to a 24 hour strike by RMT and Unite.
Disputes have erupted over wages, jobs and conditions, with the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA) announcing more strike tickets at rail companies on Wednesday, raising the threat of a prolonged summer of interruptions.
Network Rail (NR) said there will be no passenger services to places including Penzance in Cornwall, Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in South Wales, Holyhead in North Wales, Chester in Cheshire and Blackpool, Lancashire.
There will also be no passenger trains running north from Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Open lines include the West Coast Main Line from London to Scotland via locations such as Birmingham and Manchester.
The number of passenger services on those days is expected to be limited to around 4,500, compared to the usual 20,000.
Lines will only be open between 7:30 am and 6:30 pm, meaning services will start later and end earlier than usual.
Here are some examples of the last trains from London on strike days:– To Edinburgh: 14:00– To Leeds: 15:05– To Birmingham: 15:43– To Cardiff: 16:27– To Brighton: 17:50
Passengers “who must travel” are urged to “plan ahead” to ensure they can complete their trips within this window, Network Rail said.
The last services from London to Scotland will depart in the early afternoon.
TfL said it expects a severe disruption or no service on all tube lines on Tuesday, with no services before 8am on Wednesday.
There will also be reduced service on London Overground and the new Elizabeth line on the three days of RMT’s strike.
Steve Montgomery, who chairs the industry body Rail Delivery Group, said: “These strikes will affect the millions of people who use the train every day, including key workers, students with exams, those unable to work from home, tourists. and those who attend important events. business and leisure events.
“Working with Network Rail, our plan is to keep as many services running as possible, but significant disruption will be unavoidable and parts of the network will be without service, so passengers should plan their journeys carefully and check departure times. their trains.
Only about 12,000-14,000 services will be able to function in the days after the strikes.
This is because signalmen and control staff will not be working night shifts starting on the dates of the strike, so trains will leave the depots up to four hours later than normal.
NR chief executive Andrew Haines said the strikes were timed to cause “maximum disruption”.
Train operators urged passengers to travel by train only if necessary, or not to travel at all on strike days.
Haines said talks had been held but had not progressed as much as he had hoped, adding: “Therefore we must prepare for an unnecessary national rail strike and the damaging impact that it will have.”
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch wrote to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking for face-to-face talks, saying it was clear the Treasury was “taking the reins” and not allowing rail employers to reach a compromise. negotiated agreement. NR denied the union’s claim.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer told Boris Johnson in Prime Minister’s Questions that he wanted the strikes to go ahead so he could “feed on division”, adding that he opposed industrial action.
Mr. Johnson claimed that a union official had said that he would not negotiate with the government.
Shapps said the strikes were “totally pointless” as the pay freeze was coming to an end.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh accused the government of being a “group of arsonists”, fueling the dispute.
After a lengthy debate in the House of Commons, a Government motion condemning the strikes and calling on unions to continue discussions was approved by 293 votes to 15, a majority of 278.
Thirteen Labor MPs voted against, as did former party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.
