There will be no train services in large parts of the country on Friday as the latest major train strike action takes place.
Members of SLIF, the train drivers’ union that works for more than a dozen train companies walked out. They will refuse to work overtime on Saturday.
20,000 RMT union members at 14 operators will also strike on Saturday in a long-running dispute.
Meanwhile, a consultation to close most ticket offices in England is coming to an end.
Passengers advised to check before traveling. Service levels will vary across England and some journeys to Scotland and Wales will affected.
Operators running no services on Friday, September 1 include Northern, Avanti West Coast, Transpennine, Southern and Thameslink.
According to the Rail Delivery Group which represents rail companies, on Saturday, September 2, fewer than half of trains will run. And some services will be subject to short-notice cancellations.
Train strike: What is happening and when?
Evening services on some lines are likely to affected in the days leading up to each strike. So passengers should plan ahead where possible.
RDG had earlier suggested that the action “deliberately designed” to upset commuters at the end of the summer holidays.
Workers from 14 different train companies expected to take part in the strike on Saturday:
Avanti West Coast
c2c
Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
East Midlands Railway
Great Western Railway
Greater Anglia
LNER
Northern Trains
South Eastern
South Western Railway
Transpennine Express
West Midlands Trains
GTR (including Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern)
Aslef and the RMT union, which represents other rail workers, have held a series of strikes since last summer that have brought much of the network to a standstill.
Asle general secretary Mick Whelan said he believed further industrial action was “inevitable”.
“This action is being taken as a response to how we are treating by the employers & the government. We have no choice,” he told media.
Aslef is expected to step up its industrial action campaign over proposed changes to pay and working conditions in the autumn.
Back in the spring, it rejected a two-year offer that would have seen drivers get a backdated 4% raise for 2022. And a 4% raise this year, in exchange for clear changes to working practices.
The RMT also has a train strike mandate until November. But its general secretary Mick Lynch said the union was already preparing to vote workers again on further action this autumn and winter.
Unions say any pay offer must reflect the cost of living. With inflation still well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Rail Delivery Group spokesman Robert Nisbet said the government had made it clear to us that we needed to reduce our cost base. As the pandemic changed passenger habits and pushed the rail industry into its financial crisis.
We don’t have as many passengers coming back to the railway. But we have more recreational passengers and more traffic on the weekend,” he said.
“That’s why we’re bringing the reforms and these conversations to the negotiating table and that’s what we want the union to sit down and seriously consider.”
Industry and government which control what’s on the table in the dispute continue to demand that unions put their members to a vote on the latest offers.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “It is disappointing to see both Aslef and the RMT coordinate their strikes with the aim of causing as much disruption as possible during the last weekend of the summer holidays.”
He called the offers for workers “fair and reasonable”. And said industrial action “delays reforms that will ultimately benefit passengers, rail workers and taxpayers.”
Closure of ticket office On Friday
A consultation on train companies’ plans to close many ticket offices which backed by the government. Currently, around 300 stations in England operated by train companies with full-time staffed ticket offices on Department for Transport contracts – 708 are part-time. Under the suggestions, most will be closed.
Government-funded watchdog Transport Focus is collating public opinion and industry reactions to the proposals before it decides whether to support or object to the plans.
A man protesting the closure of ticket offices in England Image Source, Getty It considered issues such as whether stations would continue to be staffed, access, waiting rooms, toilets and how customers struggling to buy tickets would be supported.
Disability campaigner Katie Panick told media Breakfast that the proposed changes were “completely unreasonable”. And that people with mobility impairments, for example, could not be expected to be able to meet staff. Search for “Up and Down Platforms” to find other members who can help for ticket purchase.
More than half a million responses to the consultation were submitted. Some rail experts have argued that the complex ticketing system should be reformed before introducing changes at the ticket office.
Mr Nisbet added that the rail delivery group “wants to take passengers on board, particularly those with accessibility concerns”. And responses to the consultation would be incorporated into their plans.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “No decision has yet been made about the future of any ticket office. But we are clear about our responsibility to provide accessible transport for everyone.”