Train services cut as RMT rail strike enters third day
Passengers face a weekend of disrupted train services as the third and final 24-hour leg of the biggest rail strike in 30 years takes place on Saturday.
Rail firms have repeated pleas for people to avoid travelling unless necessary, with only about 20% of trains expected to operate in a limited window.
Sunday services will start later and be slightly reduced. Passengers with advance tickets will be allowed to use them until Tuesday or obtain a full refund.
While many commuters have opted to work from home in the week, leaving many of the few trains running only partially occupied, train firms anticipate busier services at the weekend.
Some have explicitly urged passengers to stay away from their services, with TransPennine telling anyone going to events such as the Test cricket match in Leeds to use alternative transport.
However, Great Western Railway is expecting to run 11 direct specials to return festivalgoers from Glastonbury to London on Sunday.
On Saturday 40,000 members of the RMT union will strike in a dispute over pay and conditions on the railways. Rail revenues remain about £2bn short of pre-pandemic levels and the government has told Network Rail and train operating companies to find savings through “modernisation” to fund pay deals.
The union has been offered a package worth 3% but inflation reached 9.1% – or 11.7% on the measure usually used to determine rail salaries – this week. Talks are due to continue in London to try to reach a settlement but sources have indicated little progress is being made.
Network Rail has said it intends to push forward with changes to the maintenance regime under which 1,800 jobs would be lost, and it will make compulsory redundancies if necessary. The RMT has demanded that the
Read more on theguardian.com
