Key events
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Key events (3)Aslef (4)West Midlands Trains (2)United Kingdom (2)Mick Whelan (2)LNER (1)
Great Western Railway says the disruption to its services will continue tomorrow and is asking passengers to travel only if strictly necessary.
Updated at 09.01 BST
In response to Aslef, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, says it would be unfair to give drivers a raise as it would mean asking passengers for more money.
Steve Montgomery, the organization’s president, said:
We are very disappointed that Aslef management have decided to impose even more uncertainty and disruption for passengers and businesses in a week that has already seen an RMT strike.
Millions of passengers will have their weekend plans disrupted, especially those who are working, or going to the Commonwealth Games or the first football game of the season.
While we will do our best to minimize disruption, if you are traveling on the affected routes, please plan ahead and check the latest travel advice.
If you are unable to travel, you can use your ticket the day before or up to and including August 2, otherwise you can change your ticket or claim a refund.
Like any service or business, we have to move with the times and we can’t keep asking taxpayers or passengers for more money when we should be responding to the huge changes in travel behavior post-Covid.
Updated at 08.49 BST
We’ve got a bit more from Mick Whelan on why Aslef members have decided to strike.
He says:
We don’t want to upset commuters, our friends and family use public transport too, and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike, but we have been forced into this position by the companies, who say they have been. pushed into this by the Tory government.
Many of our members, who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods across the country during the pandemic, have not had a pay raise since 2019.
With inflation north of 10%, that means these drivers have had a real pay cut over the past three years.
We want an increase in line with the cost of living, we want to be able to buy, in 2022, what we could buy in 2021.
It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you don’t get worse for three years in a row.
Mainly because the train companies are doing very well, thank you, outside of British Rail, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders and big salaries for managers, and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.
Rising wages are not fueling inflation. Excess leverage does, but the government doesn’t ask companies to cut profits or pay dividends to help manage inflation.
Wages follow prices, not drive them up.
We don’t see why we should give up a pay rise to keep up with inflation and help the privatized train companies make even bigger profits to ship overseas.
Why are the machinists on strike?
The striking drivers are all part of the Aslef trade union.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said strikes were “a last resort” but that many of its members had not had a pay rise for three years, despite working during the pandemic, and the ‘high level of inflation meant that they had received a salary. cut in real terms.
We apologize for the disruption caused. We understand that this is what happens when we take industrial action, but it is up to the companies to correct it.
Updated at 08.48 BST
What services are affected?
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As just mentioned, West Midlands Trains is one of the seven companies affected today.
But these companies operate more than seven services.
The other services experiencing problems are intercity services on the LNER, which runs from London to Scotland via Leeds. This service will be greatly reduced. Great West services will be severely curtailed. All Heathrow Express trains are canceled and no GWR services will run west of Bristol to Wales.
A minimum of one Greater Anglia service and only one Hull Trains service in each direction will operate. There will be no trains running on the South East and most London Overground services will also stop.
Other train operators such as Southern and Thameslink have warned that services could be overcrowded and disrupted as passengers switch to alternative services.
Updated at 07.58 BST
The biggest strike of machinists in decades begins
Good morning.
Across the UK, millions face rail disruption today as thousands of train drivers from seven operators strike in a dispute over pay.
The industrial action by members of the Aslef union represents the biggest strike by train drivers in decades and will halt services at some train operators.
Among the services affected is West Midlands Trains, which runs to sports venues around Birmingham, the host city of the Commonwealth Games.
Rail officials accused the union of targeting its action on the opening weekend of both the Games and the new English football league season.
We’ll bring you the latest on this story throughout the day.