Planned engineering and fresh strikes to cause chaos after bank holiday weekend
Train drivers at 16 rail companies will stage a series of fresh strikes next week in a long-running pay dispute, Aslef has announced.
The strike, running from Tuesday, May 7 until Thursday, May 9, is expected to cause chaos for commuters.
The dates follow planned engineering works during the Bank Holiday weekend. Govia Thameslink has advised customers to check their journeys for the entire period, starting from Saturday.
The industrial action will see drivers who are members of Aslef walk out in a series of one-day strikes, coupled with a six-day overtime ban running from May 6 to 11.
A spokesman from Aslef said: “The dispute is to get train drivers, who have not had an increase in salary for five years, since their last pay deals expired in 2019, the pay rise they deserve.
“The cost-of-living has increased significantly in the last five years.”
The union said that on May 7, members will walk out at C2C, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern and Gatwick Express.
South Western Railway’s main line and depot drivers will also walk out, as will drivers on the SWR Island Line.
On May 8, drivers at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway; and West Midlands Trains will walk out.
May 9 will then see drivers at LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Trains take to the picket line.
Members will also refuse to work non-contractual overtime for five days from Monday, May 6 to Saturday, May 11.
During the overtime ban, GTR will be running an amended timetable with fewer services overall. Trains running in the overtime ban will be much busier than usual, especially at peak times.
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director at GTR, said: “With the bank holiday weekend fast approaching, we’re urging people to plan ahead because, regrettably, industrial action by the ASLEF union will impact train journeys.
“If you’re planning to travel by train next week, please check your journey online. We’re really sorry if the disruption will affect your plans.”
(Picture: GTR)