Misery for commuters, as third train strike in four days brings railways to a standstill

8 April 2024, 06:19

Train strikes on Monday morning brought much of the railway network to a standstill, causing chaos for commuters.

The strike by train drivers' union Aslef is the latest walkout in their long-running dispute with train operators over salaries.

Monday's action was the third strike in four days, with services into London from the south-east of England and East Anglia particularly hard hit.

The strike hit c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Great Northern and Thameslink.

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South Western Railway said reduced services would run on a small number of lines between 7am and 7pm, with much of the network closed.

Southern said a shuttle service would be running between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, but the vast majority of its trains would not run

No Thameslink services will operate, apart from a limited shuttle between Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras, and a limited non-stop train between London Kings Cross and Cambridge.

Great Northern and Gatwick Express will not run any services at all, but Gatwick Airport will continue to be served by the limited non-stop Southern shuttle.

Southeastern advised people not to travel, and said most of its routes and stations would be closed, with an extremely limited service where trains are running.

A statement said: "If you do travel, expect severe disruption, plan ahead and allow much more time for your journey.

"Trains that are running will be extremely busy, they start later and finish early. You may be unable to board trains at some stations, and we estimate that there could be queues for up to two hours due to the very limited service. Only 29 out of 165 Southeastern stations will be open. No rail replacement buses will serve stations that are closed."

No c2c trains will run. Rob Mullen, c2c managing director, said: "I'm really disappointed that an agreement with Aslef hasn't been reached. The impact of this ongoing action is significant for our customers and colleagues.

"I'm hopeful that further meetings with the unions are productive and see progress made toward concluding this challenging time for the railway."

Greater Anglia said its first trains would start later and last trains finish earlier than usual, apart from the Stansted Express.

An hourly train service will operate on routes between Norwich/Colchester and London Liverpool Street; Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street; Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street. A bi-hourly train service will run between Cambridge and London.

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "Train companies are working through plans to manage the unnecessary disruption to our passengers caused by this damaging industrial action.

"Minimum service levels are one potential tool for that but they are not a silver bullet. In the meantime we remain committed to resolving this dispute and our offer, which would take average driver salaries to £65,000 for a four-day week without overtime, remains on the table."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike, targeting passengers and preventing their own members from voting on the pay offer that remains on the table.

"Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the Transport Secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table - taking train drivers' average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000."

National Express was adding thousands of extra seats across its UK-wide coach network.

It comes after an Aslef Tube strike for Monday and May 4 was called off last week when the union and Transport for London reached an agreement over working conditions.