Rail passengers will face major disruption or no travel today as train drivers from nine operating companies stage a 24-hour strike, halting services in many parts of England, Scotland and Wales.
Thousands of Aslef union members are on strike in the latest industrial action in a stalled dispute over wages and the “modernisation” of the railway.
The strike has stopped most intercity trains between London and the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland and south Wales. Parts of the UK, including the West Midlands, South West England and Kent, will have no trains running today.
Train operators have warned passengers to avoid traveling on the affected routes. Those trying to travel should be prepared for overcrowded trains and possible last-minute cancellations, with effects expected to linger through the first half of Sunday.
Drivers will strike at Arriva Rail London, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), West Midlands Trains and Southeastern.
The strike means no trains will run on Saturday on London Overground, CrossCountry, Southeastern, West Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast.
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Very limited services will operate on Hull Trains, Great Western Railway, LNER and the Greater Anglia network, including the Stansted Express Airport service.
The rail sector has called on unions to continue talks. Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, said that without passenger numbers having recovered to pre-pandemic levels, “ensuring a bright future means we have to adapt”.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan has said he would continue to speak out, but that the government was telling businesses to cap wages well below inflation.
He said he had been around the country talking to drivers ahead of the strike – the second national strike coordinated by Aslef this summer – and that his members were “very willing to do it and understand that we can be here for the long haul”. .
Saturday’s action is the first of a week of strikes by four different transport unions which will severely curtail rail services. Trains will also be disrupted for four days from Thursday as 40,000 members of the RMT union at Network Rail and 14 train operators hold two 24-hour strikes on August 18 and 20. Several thousand TSSA members at Network Rail and seven train operators will also take action on the day.
The lack of signals will mean only around a fifth of the usual timetable will run on strike days, while services will not resume properly until late morning on the following days.
Transport for London will also be disrupted on the day between national rail strikes, on August 19, when RMT members and some Unite members at Transport for London and London Overground will strike. Most Tube and London Overground services in the capital will not be running. Parts of the city will also be without buses as 1,600 west London drivers from the Unite union go on strike for two days from August 19.