Rail workers in England have voted to go on strike this summer which could mean massive disruption to the network.
It is possible that trains across the border will only run for part of the day, such as from 7am to 7pm, and only on main lines. There are also reports that services could be reduced to about a fifth of the normal weekday timetable, and trains only running on main lines.
Contingency plans are also being drawn up to try and keep passenger and freight trains running in the event of industrial action. The RMT had balloted about 40,000 members across Network Rail and 16 train operating companies for industrial action over pay and cuts. Around 71% of members took part in the vote and 89% voted for strike action.
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Rail staff in Wales at Transport for Wales were not involved in the ballot as there is no ongoing disputes with the Welsh Government, but any strikes will affect any cross border services between Wales and England.
Any strike action by Network Rail staff could also affect services in Wales.
The ballot was among RMT members on:
- Network Rail
Great Western Railway,
- Chiltern Railways
- Cross Country Trains
- Greater Anglia
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern Railway
- South Western Railway
- Island Line
- Transpennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- West Midlands Trains
The union has to give notice, so any strikes will not start immediately, and will likely to be in late June if they do go ahead. All the different train firms are separate bargaining units, with Network Rail also divided into operations and maintenance. If operations – mainly signallers – vote to strike, the railway could be closed.
The union Aslef, which represents drivers is currently in dispute with ScotRail, but not elsewhere in the UK, has warned it will not tolerate a further pay freeze for the train drivers it represents. The TSSA union has said it is considering a ballot.
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A Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: "The pandemic was an unprecedented shock for the railway, with the lowest passenger numbers in over 150 years and record levels of public funding to keep it running. Our whole focus now should be securing a thriving future for rail that adapts to new travel patterns and takes no more than its fair share from taxpayers, instead of staging premature industrial action which would disrupt passengers' lives and put the industry's recovery at risk.
"For the sake of our people and everyone who relies on our railway every day, we want the RMT to work with us to bring how we run our services up to date so that it is more reliable, more affordable and inspires more passengers back on board. We are acutely aware of the cost-of-living pressures being felt by workers and families across the UK. Every business wants to support its staff and the railway is no exception.
"All train operators want to offer their staff a pay rise and are working hard to make that happen, but as an industry we have to change our ways of working and improve productivity to help pay our own way - the alternatives of asking taxpayers to shoulder even more of the burden after contributing an extra £16bn to the industry during Covid, or passengers to pay even higher fares when they too are feeling the pinch, simply isn't fair."
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Railways are going through difficult times with passenger numbers down. We need to make sure they're fit for the future. We want a fair deal for staff, for passengers and taxpayers so money isn't taken away from other essential services, NHS being a good example.
"The Prime Minister is firmly of the view that unions should talk to the Government before causing irreparable damage to our railways, strikes should be the last resort not the first."
Meanwhile, the RMT has announced that thousands of its members on London Underground will stage a 24-hour strike on June 6 in a separate dispute over jobs.
