How will journeys on Sunday be affected?
Disruption from industrial action will continue into the early hours of Sunday.
Services on Southeastern Railway will resume from 6.30am, it said:
🔴 Our network is closed today. Please do not travel.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) July 30, 2022
🕡 Services resume from 06:30am tomorrow.
📲 Check your journey at: https://t.co/P7IK8GPdPo #RailStrike pic.twitter.com/0LVhY51c0S
Here’s how tomorrow is looking for those travelling on other services:
- The London Overground will return to a good service by 9am, TfL said.
- Greater Anglia has said its Sunday morning services will start later than usual, with some morning trains cancelled.
- Great Western Railway warned there will be significant disruption on Sunday, and advised customers to only travel by train if necessary.
- Three trains journeys between London and Hull on Sunday have been cancelled, Hull Trains said.
- The strikes will affect morning services by London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway. Neither company specified exact times.
We’ll be closing this blog soon – thanks for following along today.
Updated
Aslef general secretary, Mick Whelan, has said the strike shows the “determination” of union members to stand up to the government and train companies.
Describing Saturday’s strike as “solid”, Whelan said: “That shows the solidarity of our members and their determination not to be pushed around by Grant Shapps, the Department for Transport, and the train companies.”
“After keeping Britain moving during the pandemic, they expect our members, who have not had an increase in pay since 2019, to keep working, effectively for a pay cut.”
The union leader said that the union is asking for a wage increase in line with rising costs. “Soaring inflation is not the fault of working people in this country, it’s the fault of this government and its inept handling of the UK economy,” he said.
He accused Shapps of “ducking and diving” instead of finding a solution to the dispute. “He could solve this in an instant by allowing the train companies to come to the table with a sensible offer and negotiate with us.”
Whelan has accused Shapps of “lying” about negotiations over this summer’s rail strikes after Shapps claimed the RMT is “stalling on reform” and that Aslef “is dragging its feet in negotiations”.
The Department for Transport issued a statement on Saturday saying that it is “misleading” to suggest that Shapps should get involved in negotiations over pay and working practices.
Updated
The former shadow transport minister Sam Tarry, who was sacked after giving broadcast interviews from a picket line, has said he “absolutely” still thinks Sir Keir Starmer is the best person to lead the country – but that Labour needs to show solidarity with striking workers.
My colleague Joe Middleton has the full report here:
Will there be more rail strikes this summer?
More rail strikes are planned for next month, with disruption expected to continue amid negotiations over pay and conditions in the industry.
Industrial action is planned for the following dates:
- Saturday 13 August
- Thursday 18 August
- Saturday 20 August.
Additionally, London Underground staff will strike on 19 August.
Zarah Sultana, the Labour MP for Coventry South, has joined the Aslef picket line outside Coventry railway station.
She tweeted that “Labour was founded to represent the interests of workers. The clue is in the name” – a reference to the divisions within the party over Labour’s relationship with the trade union movement amid industrial action.
Labour was founded to represent the interests of workers. The clue is in the name.
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) July 30, 2022
That's why I was proud to join the @ASLEFunion picket outside Coventry Railway Station today, supporting their fight for fair pay ✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/o79yQVUb6e
Updated
As we reported this morning, disruption on some services is expected to continue into tomorrow.
Trains will continue to be disrupted tomorrow (Sunday). Please only travel if absolutely necessary.
— GWR (@GWRHelp) July 30, 2022
❗ Due to industrial action, we will be operating a reduced service on 27 July, with no trains on 30 July. This will also affect services on the mornings of 28 and 31.
— West Midlands Railway (@WestMidRailway) July 25, 2022
We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause.
For more information, visit > https://t.co/XvfgGLaI5l pic.twitter.com/PxAsoiWnA0
Updated
Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
The Department for Transport has said it is “misleading” to suggest that Grant Shapps should get involved in negotiations over pay and working practices.
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, accused the transport secretary of “lying” about negotiations over strikes, telling Times Radio: “We’re not dragging our feet in negotiations; we negotiate with 14 private companies. We do not work for the government or the DfT [Department for Transport].”
Whelan said the strikes were “the last resort”. Many of Aslef’s members have not had a pay rise for three years, he said, despite working through the pandemic, and are now experiencing a pay cut in real terms because of inflation.
The Department for Transport described the suggestion that Shapps should get involved as “extremely misleading”. Its statement said: “His role is to protect the public purse, ensuring value for money for the hardworking people of this country.
“As such, he’s required to set the limits of taxpayer support and ultimately sign off on any deal, not to be involved in negotiating one, and his contracts with operators allow him to do precisely that.”
Updated
Hitachi rail workers to strike from Sunday
Hitachi rail workers will strike for three days from Sunday in a row over pay and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), whose jobs include maintenance, are in dispute over pay and issues including breaks, leave entitlement and shift length.
The RMT’s general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “Our members know the value of their work and will not be shortchanged by Hitachi Rail.
“I congratulate our members on this strong industrial response and RMT will support further stoppages until they receive a just settlement.”
Updated
The Guardian’s Midlands correspondent, Jessica Murray, reports from Birmingham, where rail strikes are disrupting one of the busiest days of the Commonwealth Games:
Snow Hill station in central Birmingham was closed on Saturday as no trains were running from the site, where picketers stood just yards away from the marathon route that closed many roads in the city.
The picket line featured a cardboard cutout face of Keir Starmer, in reference to the Labour leader’s ban on MPs joining strikers.
The strikers, from the train drivers’ union Aslef, said they were striking because rising inflation meant the value of workers’ wages was falling, while rail bosses were pocketing huge salaries.
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said the RMT strike on Wednesday had had little impact on the Games, but that Saturday would be a “big test”.
“We are utterly determined that people should still be able to travel to the West Midlands and then use public transport to get to the venues. This has always been a public transport Games,” he said, adding that an additional 600 buses were being used to help visitors get to the 16 venues where events were taking place.
“We’re determined not to let Aslef destroy the success of the Games,” he said. “It is a rather cynical manipulation of the Games for them to call their strike on the first Saturday of the event. It is an international celebration and I feel it is a great shame it is being targeted in this way.”
A number of rail operators, including Avanti, Chiltern and Cross Country, were expected to be operating as normal, meaning it would still be possible for people around the country to travel to Birmingham for the event, although services were expected to be very busy.
Updated
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, has said that Grant Shapps “can’t keep hiding” and has to “stop misinforming the public”.
When asked what he would say to the transport secretary, Whelan replied: “Mr Shapps, you can’t keep hiding. At some point, somebody is going to have to stop misinforming the public [and] tell the truth about the contracts that you signed with these people.”
It comes after Whelan accused Shapps of “lying” about negotiations over this summer’s rail strikes. He told Times Radio this morning:
I say Mr Shapps is lying, quite simply, quite clearly.
We’re not dragging our feet in negotiations; we negotiate with 14 private companies. We do not work for the government or the DfT [Department for Transport].”
I would like Mr Shapps to get us out of this catch-22 situation that he misrepresents at every opportunity.
Updated
Which rail services are affected and for how long?
Here’s a quick recap to get you up to speed about the services affected by industrial action.
Aslef union members are striking on Saturday, with 5,500 members of staff expected to walk out. Drivers are striking over pay, with Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, saying many members have not had a pay rise for three years.
The following services will be affected:
- London Overground - no service
- Greater Anglia - greatly reduced
- Heathrow Express - no service
- Great Western Railway – greatly reduced
- Hull Trains - reduced timetable
-
LNER – greatly reduced
- London Northwestern Railway - no service
-
Southeastern - no service
- West Midlands – greatly reduced
The strike will last for 24 hours, and customers should expect some rail disruption to continue into Sunday 31 July.
Updated
Sam Tarry, the former shadow transport minister, said Labour clearly needed a “more comprehensive” economic policy offer for workers to see how the party could get them a decent pay rise.
Speaking on the Aslef picket line outside Paddington station, he said that workers “have had enough” and people were “prepared to fight back”.
He told the PA news agency: “For me to be here is about showing that the Labour Party and a massive majority of Labour Party members and MPs do support the striking workers.”
He said he had spoken to several MPs across the country who were backing the workers.
Tarry ruled out any potential Labour leadership bid and said he was “focused on being the MP for Ilford South” and “doing the best job” he could for the people of Ilford South.
Labour party needs to back trade unions, Tarry says
The former shadow transport minister Sam Tarry has said he “absolutely” still thinks Sir Keir Starmer is the best person to lead the country – but that Labour needs to show solidarity with striking workers.
The Labour MP for Ilford South told the PA news agency: “I believe Keir Starmer is absolutely still the best person to become prime minister and I’ll be campaigning every day for a Labour government”.
But Tarry, who was sacked from the shadow cabinet this week after joining a picket line, said that the Labour party needed a “fundamental recalibration” of its relationship with the trade union movement and needed to show it was on their side.
Speaking on the Aslef picket line outside Paddington station, he said: “We should never have been in a situation where we had an edict that you can’t join a picket line. This is the Labour party, the clue is in the name. We are the party founded by the trade unions.”
He added that the link between the union movement and the Labour party was “indivisible” and “part of the same fabric”.
Updated
Richard Burgon is the latest Labour MP to make an appearance on the picket line.
Visiting the @ASLEFunion picket line here in Leeds this morning.
— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) July 30, 2022
Solidarity with ASLEF members taking strike action today! ✊ pic.twitter.com/rKGkyBzmtE
More Labour MPs have showed support for Aslef members, as Ian Lavery and Ian Mearns, MPs for Wansbeck and Gateshead respectively, join the picket line in Newcastle along with the North of Tyne mayor, Jamie Driscoll:
Fantastic support and solidarity at Newcastle from @IanLaveryMP @MayorJD @IanMearnsMP and local activists ✊ pic.twitter.com/q5975us05q
— ASLEF (@ASLEFunion) July 30, 2022
Updated
Sam Tarry joins Aslef picket line at Paddington station
Sam Tarry, the former shadow transport minister who was sacked from the frontbench this week, has joined another picket line at London’s Paddington station.
Tarry and the London Assembly transport lead, Elly Baker, joined Aslef members at the station as thousands of train drivers from seven companies walked out for 24 hours.
Proud to join my brothers and sisters in @ASLEFunion and @MickWhelanASLEF on the picket line at Paddington station earlier this morning.
— Sam Tarry MP (@SamTarry) July 30, 2022
There is power in a Union. Solidarity ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/xa7gqSxVep
Tarry was sacked on Wednesday hours after joining strikers at an RMT picket line at Euston Station.
The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, who previously banned frontbenchers from joining picket lines, said he was sacked for conducting a media round without any prior warning.
Tarry wrote about his decision and sense of duty to join the picket line for the Guardian. You can read it here:
Updated
Mary Kelly Foy, the Labour MP for City of Durham, has expressed solidarity with Aslef union members as they strike.
Solidarity with @ASLEFunion members on strike across the country today.
— Mary Kelly Foy MP (@marykfoy) July 30, 2022
I stand with you in your fight for more secure work and better conditions.
Under the Tories we face a race to the bottom - working people deserve better. https://t.co/QSqBSWbGzg
LNER, which runs trains between London and Scotland, is warning customers of its “extremely limited services” today.
We are running an extremely limited service TODAY due to industrial action. ⁰⁰Avoid travel unless absolutely necessary. All LNER routes are impacted.
— London North Eastern Railway (@LNER) July 30, 2022
For the latest information, visit https://t.co/w1GaRZjq4T pic.twitter.com/Pi5jMEpjgw
Updated
Union leader accuses Shapps of lying about negotiations
The Aslef union has accused the transport secretary of “lying” about negotiations over this summer’s rail strikes.
Grant Shapps had written in the Times: “The ‘two Micks’, Lynch of the RMT and Whelan of Aslef, are taking the taxpayer for a ride, but not in the way they are meant to.
“RMT is stalling on reform and Aslef is dragging its feet in negotiations while both call more strikes. Enough.”
In response, Whelan told Times Radio this morning:
I say Mr Shapps is lying, quite simply, quite clearly.
We’re not dragging our feet in negotiations, we negotiate with 14 private companies, we do not work for the government or the DfT [Department for Transport].”
I would like Mr Shapps to get us out of this catch-22 situation that he misrepresents at every opportunity.
Updated
Great Western Railway says disruption to its services will continue into tomorrow and asks passengers to travel only if strictly necessary.
Today GWR services will be severely affected by the ASLEF union industrial action
— GWR (@GWRHelp) July 30, 2022
Please find alternative means of transport where possible. Only travel if necessary
Check your train👉https://t.co/YAAssNynSY
Refunds👉https://t.co/xA8UkxChzN
More info👉https://t.co/TmQgPhF9av pic.twitter.com/fl4PJR69JN
Updated
In response to Aslef, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train firms, says it would be unfair to give drivers a raise as it would require asking passengers for more money
Steve Montgomery, the chair of the organisation, said:
We’re really disappointed that the Aslef leadership has decided to impose yet more uncertainty and disruption for passengers and businesses in a week which has already seen a strike by the RMT.
Millions of passengers will have their weekend plans disrupted, particularly those who are working, or going to the Commonwealth Games or the first football match of the season.
While we will do all that we can to minimise disruption, if you are going to travel on the routes affected, please plan ahead and check the latest travel advice.
If you’re not able to travel, you can use your ticket either the day before or up to and including August 2, otherwise you will be able to change your ticket or claim a refund.
Like any service or business, we must move with the times and cannot continue to ask taxpayers or passengers for more money when we should instead respond to the huge changes in travel behaviour post Covid.
Updated
We’ve got a bit more from Mick Whelan on why Aslef members have decided to strike.
He says:
We don’t want to inconvenience passengers, our friends and families use public transport, too, and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies, who say they have been driven to this by the Tory government.
Many of our members, who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic, have not had a pay rise since 2019.
With inflation running at north of 10% that means those drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last 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’re not worse off for three years in a row.
Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers, and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.
Wage rises aren’t fuelling inflation. Excess profiteering is, but the government isn’t asking companies to cut profits or dividend payments to help manage inflation.
Wages are chasing prices, not putting them up.
We don’t see why we should forego an increase in salary to keep pace with inflation and help the privatised train companies make even bigger profits to send abroad.
Why are train drivers striking?
The striking drivers are all part of the Aslef union.
Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, said the strikes were “the last resort” but that many of his members had not had a pay rise for three years, despite working through the pandemic, and the high level of inflation meant they had taken a pay cut in real terms.
We regret the disruption caused. We understand that’s what happens when we take industrial action, but it’s in the hands of the companies to put this right.
Updated
Which services are affected?
As we just mentioned, West Midlands Trains is one of seven companies affected today.
The other services experiencing issues are intercity services on LNER, which runs from London to Scotland via York. Great Western services will be severely curtailed. All Heathrow Express trains are cancelled and no GWR services will run west of Bristol into Wales.
A minimal Greater Anglia service, and just one Hull Trains service in each direction, will operate. No trains will run on Southeastern, and the majority of the London Overground services will also be stopped.
Other train operators such as Southern and Thameslink have warned that services could be crowded and disrupted as passengers switch to alternative services.
• This post was amended on 2 August 2022. LNER services from London to Scotland are via York, not Leeds as an earlier version said.
Updated
Biggest strike by train drivers in decades begins
Good morning.
Across Britain, millions of people 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 drivers in decades and will halt some train operators’ services.
Among the services affected is West Midlands Trains, which runs to sporting venues around Birmingham, the host city of the Commonwealth Games.
Rail bosses 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 developments on this story throughout the day.
