Further rail disruptions expected after strike vote

There is expected to be further rail disruptions next month, after the rail workers union - the RMT - announced that train crew at 12 operating companies will push ahead with two 48-hour strikes.

RMT members are now set to take action from May 6 to May 7 and between May 27 and May 28. The dispute between the union and employers centres on the future safety role of rail guards - with the RMT accusing employers of "watering down" the role of guards and of compromising safety standards.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "The employers know that it will cost them nothing to settle this dispute, but they have made no effort whatsoever to come to an agreement.

"This is a dispute about safety, pure and simple. The guard's role has been watered down and it needs to be restored to the rulebook in full - no ifs, no buts and no maybes.

He added: "The employers have dragged this dispute out for years and our members have made it clear that they will not be fobbed off with unkept promises.

"We will now also be taking advice on the legality the Strategic Rail Authority's shameful use of public money to underwrite operators against losses on strike days, especially given the clear public interest in the matter of safety."

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has described the strike as "pointless".

In a statement responding to the RMT's strike action on April 17, Steve Bence, ATOC Director of Operations, said: "I think everyone knows this strike is pointless and unjustified… We urge the RMT to call off its strike, and get back to common sense in addressing its grievances."

ATOC say that train operators are following established best practice in the safe running of trains set out by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (formally Railway Safety) and as such "the rules can only be changed by the Rail Safety and Standards Board and not by strikes".

The rail companies effected are: Arriva Trains Merseyside; Central Trains; Connex South Eastern; Govia South Central; Midland Mainline; Scotrail; Silverlink; Thames Trains; Virgin West Coast; Virgin Cross Country; Wales and Borders, and Wessex Trains.

Eight companies – GNER; Island Line; Anglia Trains; Hull Trains; First Great Western; First Great Eastern; First North Western, and Chiltern Railways – have signed up to the agreement on the safety role of the guard.

(GMcG)