Britons’ vacation plans were jeopardized today, when Gatwick Express canceled all trains for three days next week and Eurostar canceled dozens of services as last-minute crunch discussions with Network Rail proceeded.
Rail union leaders accused Grant Shapps of using ‘bully boy tactics’ after he warned that striking next Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will jeopardize their employment – while Downing Street insisted there was still time to cancel the strike.
It comes as Eurostar became the latest operator to cancel trains, with a total of 41 canceled between next Tuesday and Saturday, jeopardizing vacation plans in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Following its release, the company reported ‘historic contact volumes across phone, email, and social media.’
‘Eurostar, you just cancelled our international train from Paris to London owing to a national rail strike in the UK,’ one passenger, Tanja Goossens, tweeted. Are you going to give us a refund for having to cut our vacation short now?!’
On strike days, Gatwick Express trains will not run, however restricted Southern and Thameslink services will run between London Victoria or London Bridge and Brighton, with a stop at the airport in West Sussex.
‘Was so glad that I’m missing the Tube/train strike next week since I’m on holiday… then realized how tf [the f***] am I going home from Stansted on Thursday?’ said another Twitter user, Nadia Holmes.
Most operators intend to operate a skeleton service from 7.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on the three strike days of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Merseyrail, on the other hand, announced today that no trains or buses will run on certain days on any of its routes. The Caledonian Sleeper is the only other operator that has canceled all services so far.
Mr Shapps, the Transport Secretary, stated that striking employees were committing a “act of self-harm,” that union executives were pressuring them to do so “under false pretenses,” and that the strikes were “the last thing” they should do.
He told workers at a train terminal in London that striking was foolish because of the new era of working from home, in which the trains are ‘in a struggle’ with Zoom, and that they shouldn’t risk losing their jobs.
‘Bully boy methods will not wash with our union when the fact is our members are fighting for their employment, salary, and a safe railway suitable for the future,’ said Manuel Cortes, president of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association.
The Unite union has warned that strikes might now move to London’s bus system, citing worries that a consultation on plans to eliminate a number of routes in the city could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs.
‘These strikes are not just an attempt to block measures that are crucial to the network’s future, and meant to inflict damage at the worst possible moment, but they are also an extraordinary act of self-harm by the union leadership,’ Mr Shapps said this morning.
Make no mistake: unlike the previous 25 years, when the railway sector took expanding passenger demand for granted, now the railway is fighting for survival.’
‘If this Tory administration was at all serious about halting what appears to be a summer of dissatisfaction on our trains, Shapps would have made it clear in his address that they are open to engage with us and sister unions,’ Mr Cortes answered less than two hours later.
Unfortunately, and maybe unfortunately, what we heard from the Transport Secretary resembled threats and intimidation of workers rather than productive engagement.’
‘The threats made today by Grant Shapps to railway employees’ lives and right to strike are reprehensible,’ RMT general secretary Mick Lynch continued, ‘and will make RMT members even more determined to win this dispute.’
Mr Shapps has to act like a sensible Transport Secretary who is ready to engage with the union and assist us to a negotiated settlement, rather than playing to the gallery for his own political goals.’
Downing Street, on the other hand, said there was still time to find a solution to what it called a “entirely self-defeating strike,” but ministers would not be directly involved in the talks – and that proposed legislation to allow the use of agency workers on the railways if the strike continues would take ‘weeks rather than months.’
Unite, a trade union, also threatened industrial action today to avoid cuts to London’s bus network, stating that unless guarantees are given that employment would not be lost and take-home pay will not be reduced, it will prepare for strike action.
Bus drivers are concerned about losing overtime and rest day work, which they rely on to supplement their income, according to Unite. ‘These cuts are an attempt to make London’s bus employees pay the price for the epidemic, and we reject them completely,’ said its head Sharon Graham.
The possibility of Unite conducting strike action to safeguard our members is properly explored. Bus service cuts usually hurt the people who can least afford it: our poorest areas.
TfL’s plans must be decisively rejected by the mayor and the London Assembly, who must stand up to the Westminster government.’
Due to a strike by the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) and Unite over employment and pay,’severe disruption or no service’ is expected on all Tube lines from the start of next Tuesday until at least 8am on Wednesday.
Buses and Docklands Light Railway services will continue during this time, but they will be ‘very congested with lines to board,’ and certain stations may be closed for’safety reasons,’ according to Transport for London.
Due to the larger national RMT strike by members of Network Rail and 13 UK rail operators on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, overground and Elizabeth line services will be disrupted between next Tuesday and Sunday.
All c2c, Chiltern, Southern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, South Western, and London Northwestern commuter trains, as well as long-distance lines such as Great Western, LNER, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Grand Central, and Hull Trains, would be affected.
‘It’s in a struggle with Zoom, Teams, and remote working,’ Mr Shapps said, adding that the railway was ‘not simply battling against other types of public and private transportation.’
‘The world has changed, in case the unions haven’t noticed. Many commuters who had no choice but to ride the train three years ago now have the option of not taking the train at all.’
‘Many commuters who had no choice but to ride the railway three years ago now have the option of not taking the train at all,’ he stated.
‘Waving them off will jeopardize the jobs of thousands of rail personnel.’ With protracted and destructive strikes, it is alienating its passengers and freight customers.’
RMT members working for Churchill, who clean trains and stations in the South East of England, have also gone on strike in recent weeks.
Eurostar has announced that on all three strike days next Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, up to four services from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, five from Paris to London, two from London to Brussels Midi, three from Brussels to London, two from London to Amsterdam Centraal, and two from Amsterdam to London will be cancelled. On Wednesday and Friday, one London to Paris and one Paris to London train will be cancelled.
It comes only 48 hours after Eurostar reassured passengers worried about interruption by saying on Twitter, “We are not presently anticipating the UK national rail strike to affect the Eurostar trains.”
During the UK national rail strike, Eurostar is canceling a number of trains to match the UK high-speed line’s restricted operation hours, according to a spokeswoman for the company.
‘Unions claim this strike is about a salary freeze,’ Mr Shapps said today. This is incorrect. We are not imposing a salary freeze because Covid is no longer in existence.
‘So, I say to the workforce: ‘Under false pretenses, your union bosses have pushed you to the brink of a countrywide strike.’ And, rather of protecting your employment, they are putting them in jeopardy.’
He also addressed rail employees directly, stating, “I appeal directly to rail workers, who I believe are less combative than their union officials.”
‘Don’t take any chances. Don’t jeopardize your career or your future. Don’t take the chance of losing your job. Do not pit yourself against the general populace. Let’s put this right and get back to work on improving the railway.’
‘If this dispute cannot be addressed, the Government will look at a complete range of remedies to prohibit the unions from harming the general public, including lifting the bar on transferrable personnel stepping in for striking workers,’ Mr Shapps added.
‘In addition, travellers will be paid for the inconvenience.’ In addition to the existing refund arrangements, we will ensure that season ticket holders are entitled to full reimbursement on strike days. If you were unable to catch the train, reimbursement is usually available. It’s a bit tricky.
‘We know that in the event of a strike, there will be those who have yearly season tickets and are able to go on specific days.’
‘I’ve moved to assist in making that an automated procedure for those persons in order to do everything we can to minimize passenger discomfort.’
‘There is no one thing you can do to alleviate the strikes,’ Mr Shapps said of the usage of agency employees. Minimum service standards are merely one more tool in the toolbox. It isn’t the sole factor.
‘Then there’s the issue of transferrable talents.’ People with transferable talents will be allowed to come where they have the required level of abilities, training, and experience, and this will be subject to a more simpler secondary legislation procedure, making it much faster.
‘If the strike continues… then transferable skills, sometimes known as agency employment, will become accessible in this particular conflict.’
‘We want the unions to back off from what will be an entirely self-defeating strike, which will not only cause significant disruption to the public and business, but may also discourage people from using our railways, which the Government believes should be treasured and enhanced,’ said the Prime Minister’s official spokesman today.
‘And there is still time for them to come to the negotiating table and agree a solution.’
‘Broadly speaking, we remain of the stance that it is for the unions to negotiate with their employers rather than the Government stepping in,’ the spokesperson said when asked if the government would act as a facilitator for negotiations.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also criticised the strikes today, calling them “irresponsible” and portraying the Conservatives as the sole party standing up for commuters.
‘I believe the RMT union’s strike action is highly reckless,’ he told LBC. Obviously, we must reconsider the structure of our railways.
‘We’ve given them a tremendous subsidy to get them through the epidemic, and when working and commuting patterns change, we’ll have to adjust accordingly.’
‘I’d want to speak up on behalf of commuters and rail passengers.’ I’m surprised that Labour has openly backed the RMT, and the Liberal Democrats, to be honest, have been lily-livered on the issue and haven’t been forthright.
‘The Conservatives are the only ones who are saying, ‘This is wrong, and we will stand up for the people.’
During the action, TfL’s Santander Cycles team will ensure that hire bicycles are ‘distributed at important places according to demand,’ and commuters will be advised that ‘walking or cycling may be faster for some journeys.’
They also cautioned that on strike days – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday – service on the Overground and newly-opened Elizabeth line will be limited ‘due to the national rail strike and its consequences on shared track and infrastructure’. On these days, the Overground will offer a restricted service between 7.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
Customers will continue to be impacted by the national rail strike on mornings when no strike action is planned, according to TfL. These days include next Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
It also advised Tube passengers who travel on portions of lines impacted by national rail strikes to delay their travels until mid-morning on certain days.
On the nights of next Friday and Saturday, RMT strike action on Night Tube services is expected to continue, but TfL intends to run three trains per hour on the Victoria and Jubilee lines and two trains per hour on the Central.
Network Rail’s senior negotiator, Tim Shoveller, said negotiations with the RMT regarding the national rail strike will continue later today, with managers ‘working very creatively to try to find methods of decreasing the cost of running the train.’
‘We’ve been talking to the unions for over a year now, so on top of that, realizing that there was always a danger, we’ve been working hard to put in place contingency provisions,’ he told BBC Radio 4 today.
‘So we’ve been working with our managers and other capable workers who can step into some of those essential jobs, and that has been a significant focus in the last several months as a contingency plan.’
‘It’s a backup plan we hoped we’d never need.’ But it’s now in place, and starting next week, we’ll be able to operate around half of the network for a short time using our experienced managers.’
‘I want to apologise to consumers who will be disrupted by the RMT and Unite’s strike action next week,’ said TfL’s chief operating officer Andy Lord.
‘The action on June 21 will have a severe impact on the London Underground network, resulting in very little to no service on all lines, which is why we’re encouraging people to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary, as the majority of Tube stations will be closed and services will be unavailable.’
‘We expect the considerable disruption caused by this strike to continue until the morning of June 22. Alternatives to the Tube are likely to be considerably busier than normal.’
‘I apologize for the disruption this may cause to people’s travel plans.’
‘This strike is especially upsetting because it comes so soon after earlier this month’s walkout; no changes to pensions have been suggested, and no one has or will lose their job as a result of the ideas we’ve put forward.’
‘We’re pushing the RMT and Unite to call off their strike and engage with us to find a solution so that people’s trips and our economic recovery aren’t disrupted.’
TfL stated the walkout is part of a larger dispute with the RMT about pensions, jobs, and conditions, as well as a wage issue with Unite.
‘Despite the fact that no proposals on pensions or terms and conditions have been submitted, and nobody has lost or will lose their job as a result of the suggestions TfL has laid out,’ bosses added.
TfL met with the RMT and Unite unions at ACAS yesterday morning, noting that “despite no resolution being achieved,” they are “eager to participate in additional negotiations in the hope that this strike may be called off.”
‘Pay discussions with Unite and other recognized unions in the region are set to commence imminently,’ according to the bosses.
TfL has been compelled to accelerate its “pre-pandemic savings program” since prior financing arrangements mandated it to aim toward attaining financial sustainability on operations by April 2023.
Bosses have recommended not hiring for about 500 to 600 vacant positions as they arise, including 250 already vacant Tube station positions, but say that stations would be staffed at all times while trains are running, with more than 4,500 station employees available across the network.
Meanwhile, violent left-wing union barons are threatening to cut Britain’s cities off from one another, putting NHS patients at danger, if they go forward with a once-in-a-generation wave of strikes that will cripple more than half of the country’s railway network.
When 40,000 RMT union members go on strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday next week, major towns from Dorset to Cheshire, Wales, and Scotland will lose all rail connections, while other regions of the UK will be impacted as well.
Due to the industrial action’s knock-on effects, travel on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday will be severely hampered, and experts have warned that the strike may cost Britain’s stuttering economy up to £150 million.
As rail leaders prepared to publish the emergency schedule, some of the 13 rail companies affected by the action – including Southeastern, TransPennine, and Avanti West Coast – asked passengers to travel only if absolutely essential.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has slammed Labour’s backing for the crippling strikes, which may force nurses and doctors to fight for employment and cause patients’ normal appointments to be canceled.
According to the Telegraph, Louise Quick, who was charged £54 for changing a scan for her nine-month-old baby Julian at Great Ormond Street, claimed the rail strikes were disrupting a ‘critical service’ for desperate patients.
It was also cautioned that GCSE and A-level students who had worked hard all year and were about to face their important end-of-year examinations would be severely disrupted.
The RMT and Unite will strike on the Underground next Tuesday in a separate dispute over employment and wages, as millions of Britons face the prospect of having no option but to work from home for the whole week.
Mr Shapps denounced the’reckless, pointless strike,’ vowing to combat extreme left-wing union bosses who want to cripple the country with Network Rail modernisation changes.
Mr Shapps, writing in The Sun, stated that he will lead the fight against the RMT’s ‘dinosaurs,’ who continue to promote ‘out of date,’ unfit-for-purpose working practices.
According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, this wave of strikes is expected to cost the UK economy at least £91 million, wreaking havoc on the night-time and hospitality industries in particular.
It comes as an industry official cautioned militant unions that if they go forward with preparations for the greatest rail strikes in a decade, they will ‘play into the hands’ of the work-from-home culture.
The walkouts, according to Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s senior negotiator, might drive commuters away just as passenger numbers and revenues begin to rebound from the epidemic.
He explained that the action would serve as a “reminder of the benefits of working from home full-time for some people.”
‘It’s actually playing to the situation’s weakness, with Teams and Zoom now being our main opponents.’
According to the Office for National Statistics, one in every seven individuals commutes to work by train. If they couldn’t catch a train, half of them claimed they’d work from home.
The RMT’s strikes, according to Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines, were a “high-stakes bet” to inflict maximum disruption.
He also admitted that there was no’real chance’ of a resolution in negotiations.
‘It’s an utter bet by the RMT that additional money will be found, even though this is a particularly harsh manner of punishing railway users and, as a result, the railway’s finances,’ Mr Haines added.
‘I would argue it is a de facto lockdown, with all the damage that we know it inflicts not just on the economy, but also on health,’ Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline. The truth is that it will be disastrous for the economy and the country.
‘And the fact that it’s occurring now, when we’re just recovered from Covid in terms of economic development, and after pouring large sums of money into train services to keep them running throughout the epidemic – I think it’s both frustrating and reckless.’
‘And Labour’s backing for the strikes – well, they can’t help themselves, can they?’
Penzance in Cornwall, Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in South Wales, Holyhead in North Wales, Chester in Cheshire, and Blackpool in Lancashire will all be without passenger services, according to Network Rail.
There would be no passenger trains travelling north from Glasgow or Edinburgh, and passenger services are projected to be curtailed to roughly 4,500 on the three strike days, compared to 20,000 ordinarily.
The services that do run will only run for 11 hours, which means they will start later and end earlier than normal. The final train from London to Edinburgh will leave at 2 p.m., vs 8.30 p.m. on a typical weekday.
On strike days, the total number of passenger services is estimated to be about 4,500, which is around 20% less than typical.
Because signallers and control employees will not work overnight hours that begin on the strike dates, only around 12,000 to 14,000 services will be able to run on the days following the strikes.
Because certain rural regions lack automatic signaling, they are likely to be entirely blocked off.
As preparations intensified, the impact was felt across the UK, with in-person conferences being replaced with online versions, fears about music enthusiasts traveling to Glastonbury, and plans to attend other events being canceled.
It comes after the Junction 2 music festival in Trent Park, North London, was canceled just eight days before it was scheduled to take place, citing “ongoing industrial action throughout the London transport network.”
‘Next week’s anticipated rail strikes are expected to drag London’s West End, and the entire country, to a grinding standstill,’ Dee Corsi, chief operating officer of the New West End Company group in London, told MailOnline.
‘This will be a particularly harsh hit for commuters who rely on these services to travel into the capital – and other city centers – for work, as well as retail and hospitality enterprises already battling with growing expenses and workforce shortages.
‘These strikes will hurt our retail and leisure hotspots at a time when they should be making the most of our first restriction-free summer since 2019.’
Amid fears for night-time economy, Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association group, told MailOnline: ‘Trading volumes during the strike action might take us back to business levels observed during lockdown.
‘We are pushing the government and key parties to address the disagreement as soon as possible, because firms in the night economy would suffer as the sector enters a vital moment for recovery.’
‘This would limit access to cities, events, and festivals throughout the UK, with rising worries about staff and public safety,’ he said.
‘The timetabled strike day train services across the UK will leave many people stranded at night, putting their safety at risk due to the lack of other transportation options.’
The walkouts will wreak havoc for those attending major events such as the Glastonbury Festival, which runs from June 22 to 26, and the England-New Zealand Test match at Headingley, which begins on June 23.
‘These strikes will affect the millions of people who use the train every day, including key workers, students with exams, those who cannot work from home, holidaymakers, and those attending important business and leisure events,’ said Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group of train operators.
‘We’re working with Network Rail to keep as many trains operating as possible, but there will be severe disruption and certain areas of the network will be without service, so travellers should plan their journeys carefully and check their train timetables.’
The RMT wants workers to get wage increases that reflect the RPI rate of inflation, which is now 11.1 percent, as well as a promise that no compulsory redundancies will occur.
According to the union, Network Rail intends to slash employment and cut spending, which will have an impact on safety.
The government and Network Rail, on the other hand, have accused the union of being hesitant to modernize work procedures.
‘Frankly, it’s taken far too long for some of our trade union colleagues to see that this isn’t a class conflict; it’s about the underlying financial gap,’ Mr Haines continued.
He claimed Network Rail was looking to reduce between 1,500 and 2,000 positions, but that the majority of the cuts could be made through ‘voluntary severance.’
RMT employees on the London Underground will also strike on the first day of the strike in a dispute over pensions and job cuts.
‘These strikes are harmful and wrong,’ said former minister and Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond.
‘More individuals are looking for jobs across the country, and these strikes will impede them from doing so.
‘They’ll also make it impossible for many others to generate money next week.’
‘The only thing people in Wimbledon want is for the strike to be called off.’
The West Coast Main Line from London to Scotland through Birmingham and Manchester will be open, however the final train on the East Coast Main Line from Edinburgh to London will be at 1.30pm.
On the three strike days, the final trains out of London will be at 2 p.m. to Edinburgh, 2.56 p.m. to Manchester, 3.05 p.m. to Leeds, 3.31 p.m. to Liverpool or Sheffield, 3.40 p.m. to Birmingham, 3.43 p.m. to Newcastle, 4.09 p.m. to Nottingham, 4.30 p.m. to Norwich, 4.33 p.m. to Bristol, 5 p.m. to
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and Southend airports will have some services, but only during restricted hours, while Heathrow trains may be canceled next Tuesday owing to a separate Tube strike.
‘Time and time again, Starmer’s Labour Party fails to stand up for the rights and concerns of working people, with this being the latest example,’ Tory MP Karl McCartney told MailOnline.
‘His trade union allies are plainly imposing a new sort of lockdown, but he doesn’t seem to mind because their interests must come first in his perspective.’
‘It’s all because he wants their money,’ says the narrator. Rail employees, like so many others, deserve a fair deal, but not at the expense of those whose livelihoods are jeopardized.’
Sir Keir stated categorically that he opposes the strikes, accusing the Prime Minister of wanting them to go through so that he may ‘feed on the divisiveness.’ Mr Johnson reportedly alleged that a union official told him that a Conservative government would be impossible to bargain with.
‘He has the chance today to clear it up: he can reject Labour’s rail strikes right now, he can disagree, I offer him the option, let him disagree with the union barons who would add to people’s bills in the coming weeks,’ Mr Johnson said during PMQs to Sir Keir.
‘I don’t want the strikes to happen,’ Sir Keir responded. He does it to profit from the division.’
‘On the brink of the greatest rail crisis in a generation, it’s revealed ministers have not conducted any negotiations whatsoever since March,’ Labour MP Liz Twist subsequently stated. So, I’m asking the Prime Minister: has he met with train sector trade unions and employers to try to resolve this conflict, yes or no?’
Mr Johnson responded, “I saw one union baron was asked about it, and he said, “I don’t bargain with a Tory Government,” which is exactly what he said, and it is exactly what they said.” We all know how much money the Labour frontbench gets from the RMT, and we all know why they’re sitting on their hands during the rail strikes. They should come out and say something about it.’
The brawls took place only hours before a three-hour Commons discussion on the strikes. The motion criticizes the three-day strike and urges rail unions to “reconsider their strike action and continue dialogue with the industry.” A Labour amendment to the resolution declares that the party “does not want national rail strikes to take place” and “urgently calls on the Government, operators, Network Rail, and the union to gather around the table and settle the concerns on pay and safety personnel reduction to avoid industrial action.”
Andrew Haines, the chief executive of Network Rail, said discussions to avoid catastrophic rail strikes are continuing, but there is little possibility of a last-minute settlement to avoid action that would cause travel misery next week.
‘Talks have not proceeded as far as I had anticipated, therefore we must prepare for an unnecessary national rail strike and its devastating consequences,’ he continued.
‘Despite the RMT’s activities, we and our train operating colleagues are preparing to provide the greatest service possible for passengers and freight customers next week.’
‘We’ll keep discussing to attempt to reach an agreement that will allow us to avoid this devastating strike, but make no mistake: the amount of service we’ll be able to provide will be severely reduced, so passengers should plan ahead and only travel if absolutely essential.’
The strikes, according to Mr Haines, have been timed to cause’maximum inconvenience.’ ‘The service that we can give to passengers in the mornings is going to be quite restricted,’ said Tim Shoveller, the organization’s managing director for the North West and Central area.
‘Even on the intermediate days, we won’t be able to provide anything resembling a complete service with the usual capacity or train frequency.’ This is what causes the disturbance to last for six days.’
The ‘full network will reopen but travellers can expect inconvenience on these days,’ according to Network Rail, on the three days after the strikes, June 22, June 24, and June 26.
The’strike days chosen have been engineered to inflict as much disruption as possible, with not enough time between the strike days to completely restore to a regular service,’ according to bosses.
The modified schedule ‘will also guarantee important freight services can continue to flow across the nation, minimizing interruption for consumers and companies and allowing vital commodities to be transported where they are needed,’ they added.
Network Rail wanted to introduce new working practices based on new technologies, such as using drones to inspect tracks and infrastructure, which the company claims would be safer and more cost effective than having workers on the tracks.
Mr Haines stated, “There has a history of resistance to change due to technology, but we cannot hold back the tide.”
He cited Network Rail’s decision to introduce an app to communicate with employees across the country, which he claimed took a year to negotiate with unions.
The railways were facing a ‘fundamental financial deficit’ as a result of the pandemic, with fewer passengers traveling, particularly on Fridays, though numbers have improved for weekend leisure travel, according to Network Rail.
Meanwhile, the RMT has requested that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak meet with them.
In a letter, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch claimed that the Treasury was ‘calling the shots’ and that rail employers were not being allowed to reach a negotiated settlement.
‘In effect, the union has been negotiating with the government in recent weeks, but the government has not been present,’ he wrote.
Mr Haines refuted the RMT’s claim, claiming that the Treasury had established a financial framework, but that Network Rail was leading discussions on productivity, which he believes is required for pay increases.
‘Working with Network Rail, our plan is to keep as many services running as possible, but significant disruption will be inevitable and some parts of the network will not have a service, so passengers should plan their journeys carefully and check their train times.
‘Taxpayers have provided the equivalent of about £600 per household since covid and passenger numbers are still only at around 75 per cent of pre pandemic levels. We need to bring rail up to date so that we attract more people back and take no more than our fair share from the public purse.
‘We ask the RMT’s leadership to call off these damaging strikes and continue talks to reach a deal that is fair to staff and taxpayers, and which secures a bright, long-term future of our railways.’
Rail bosses also confirmed that all train operators are affected by the strike – whether they have an individual dispute with the RMT or not – because Network Rail’s signallers control train movements across all of Britain.
Network Rail added: ‘Although the network will only be open from 7.30am to 6.30pm on strike days, electricity to tracks and overhead lines will stay on throughout, as will patrolling by security staff, police and from the air.’
Today, Mr Shapps told the Commons that the rail strikes are ‘entirely pointless’ and ‘counterproductive’ as the pay freeze was ‘coming to an end’.
He was responding to Conservative former minister Stephen Hammond who said: ‘The railways need to modernise coming out of the pandemic.
‘And is it not extraordinary that just as that confidence is being put in place it’s going to be destroyed by these strikes… and can he agree with me that this is exactly the wrong time both for our economy and for our railways for these strikes to be happening?’
It comes as talks between Network Rail and the TSSA will be held later in a bid to agree a pay deal. Network Rail said it remains committed to progressing talks with the union to implement reforms to management.
Sources said that, through natural attrition and uptake on voluntary severance, strong progress has been made on management modernisation to date.
Replying to a claim by Mr Cortes that Grant Shapps and others have instructed management at Network Rail to throw ‘endless pots of money’ at bribes aimed at attempting to break strikes, a DfT spokesman said: ‘This is wholly false. Government has made no such instruction and it’s wrong to imply as such.
‘We encourage unions to call off these strikes and return to the negotiating table, there’s no doubt that the strikes next week will come at a massive cost to the country and to the railways – just when the railways are facing the biggest challenge in their 200-year history.’
Meanwhile, the leadership of train drivers’ union Aslef has agreed to put a pay deal to members for final approval as six days of disruption is expected on the network as a result of another dispute.
Aslef’s executive committee announced yesterday that a ballot of members would go ahead after previously rejecting a deal to end a dispute that has seen more than 700 services cut, with a final result expected on July 11.
Members of the union stopped working overtime when the dispute began, resulting in a temporary timetable being put in place.
The timetable looks set to continue for at least another month after ScotRail said it would take 10 days to reinstate a full service.
The new offer will see pay increase by five per cent, along with more money for rest day and Sunday working, driving instructor and maternity pay, as well as a policy of no compulsory redundancies for the next five years.
Kevin Lindsay, the Scottish regional organiser for the union, said: ‘Following a meeting of Aslef’s national executive committee today, it has been agreed that the package of pay and conditions improvements negotiated between the union and ScotRail will be put to all members in a ballot. The executive is recommending members accept the deal.
‘Aslef is a democratic, lay, member-led union, therefore it is right that the train drivers of Scotland decide whether or not to accept this offer. Ballot papers will go out next week and the result announced on July 11.’
The dispute from workers is not with ScotRail, although there will be a ‘major knock-on effect’ on services north of the border.
Action looks set to go ahead on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week, with just five routes in Scotland’s central belt running during the hours of 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Routes between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High, Edinburgh and Bathgate, Glasgow and Larkhall and Glasgow and Lanark will have two trains per hour, while another between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Shotts will have one train per hour.
Customers have been warned they should only travel on the routes ‘if they really need to’ and that final services will leave stations ‘well before 6.30pm’.
Disruption will also be felt on the network in the days following the action as signal boxes are reopened, particularly outside the central belt.
An update from ScotRail yesterday said it ‘may well be later in the day’ before services return to normal in areas other than the middle of the country, where signal boxes are expected to be reopened as early at 7.15am.
David Simpson, ScotRail’s service delivery director, said: ‘It is very unfortunate to see such widespread disruption across the whole of the Great Britain rail network and we know this will be frustrating for ScotRail customers.
‘Regrettably, this strike action by RMT members of Network Rail means that we will not be able to operate the vast majority of our services during the period of strike action.
‘Customers should expect significant disruption to services next week, including on the days between strike action.
‘On the five routes where we are able to operate a very limited service on strike days, we’re advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to.’
RMT members in Scotland are also locked in a pay dispute with ScotRail, having rejected a deal similar to that offered to Aslef last week.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Unions have gone on the record saying they don’t negotiate with this Government. They’re right: they must negotiate with the employers.
‘The industry is offering daily talks to resolve the strikes. We continue to encourage the unions to take them up on that offer and negotiate a fair deal for everyone instead of going straight to the last resort of strikes.’