Next week, travelers will be told not to travel by train, as the entire network will be paralyzed by the biggest strike in more than 30 years.
In a major announcement on Wednesday, train operating companies are expected to urge people to avoid all journeys on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, as services will be drastically reduced.
Network Rail is scheduled to set a new schedule, with services cut by 80 percent, and to announce that all journeys will have to be completed by 6:30 p.m.
Southeastern, one of the largest rail operators in the UK, has already written to passengers asking them to avoid traveling on strike days because most of their routes and stations will be closed, while the c2c railway will advise passengers to “only travel if necessary”.
South Western Railway chiefs were still having “live talks” about their plans Tuesday night, but will most likely ask passengers to avoid traveling. Other operators are expected to make similar announcements.
It will force schools and hospitals to urgently assess how they can continue to function, with the risk of returning to online classes and the cancellation of non-urgent medical appointments.
Industry sources said on Tuesday night that train companies were under substantial pressure from ministers to avoid posting “no travel” warnings because Transport Minister Grant Shapps “does not want to give in to unions”.
They are asked to keep the services running whenever possible. However, sources said: “We have to tell them not to travel because if we have people who normally go to the stations waiting to get on a train we will have a big problem.”
“Completely unsafe to run any train during strike”
Union sources said the entire network would have to be shut down for security reasons. They described the suggestions of even a 20 per cent service as “optimistic” and said it was “completely unsafe to run any trains” due to the large number of critical security personnel who went on strike.
It comes when thousands more railway workers have to be voted in for strikes that could arrive in July.
The Transportation Employees Association (TSSA) has notified the vote of more than 6,000 Network Rail employees in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. In the event of a favorable vote, the strike could take place from 25 July.