The managing director of one of the country’s biggest rail operators has warned passengers not to travel during strikes this Wednesday.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) managing director Will Rogers said services will be drastically cut during the latest RMT strike action over pay and conditions.
He said EMR – which operates services between London and Leeds via towns and cities including Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Derby – would be running the same timetable it did during the weekday strikes last month.
EMR said if customers need to travel, they should plan ahead and leave extra time for their journey – including the day after the strike, with knock-on effects expected to impact services on Thursday.
During the action members of the RMT at Network Rail and 14 train operators will walk out, meaning only a fifth of services will run, on around half of the network.
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has also announced a strike by its members at Avanti West Coast on Wednesday, while members of the drivers’ union Aslef will strike on Saturday in a number of companies.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said union members were determined to secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions.
EMR, meanwhile, said a pool of contingency staff had been trained to the same “safety-critical” standards as their permanent colleagues to ensure a service can continue to operate.
Will Rogers said: "We are disappointed the RMT has again decided to opt for counterproductive strikes rather than working with the industry to find a deal that is acceptable for our people, our passengers and for taxpayers.
“As a result, there will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services and other lines will have a reduced level of service. There will also be a smaller impact on the day after the strike.
"I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys next week – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”
EMR services will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday (July 27) with one train an hour between Nottingham and London and a single train each hour between Sheffield and London.
On local routes there will also be just one service per hour between Corby and London, Derby and Matlock, Derby and Nottingham, Leicester and Nottingham, and Nottingham and Sheffield. All other lines of route will be closed.
Mick Lynch said: “Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new.
“In fact Network Rail have upped the ante, threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50 per cent cuts to maintenance work if we did not withdraw our planned strike action.
“The train operating companies have put driver-only operations on the table along with ransacking our members’ terms and conditions.
“RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone.
“The Government need to stop their interference in this dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us.”
