Rail strikes that have hit London and other parts of Britain could be over “quickly,” says a union boss.
The Aslef union, which represents train drivers, voiced optimism that a resolution could be found after a meeting with the Department for Transport on Tuesday.
Its leader Mick Whelan told BBC Radio: “The fact that the Labour Party met with us within seven days of taking power and put a team in place to talk to us is a major step forward and the whole tone has changed.”
Pressed whether it meant an end to the walk-outs was closer, he added: “I believe it is.
“The whole tone has changed.
“Until you get a final offer you can never say it’s definitely over but I think the mood music is very much that they want a resolution, they want it quickly, they want a railway that performs for the travelling public, the passengers and the people that work within it, and I’m quite keen to make that happen.”
He emphasised that the last meeting with a minister at the DfT had been in January 2023 under the previous Tory government.
But he stopped short of saying how differences between the union and train companies, over work practices, could be resolved to end the industrial action.
The meeting at the DfT will be followed by further talks in the coming weeks.
The two sides met after months of stalemate under the Conservatives in the two-year row over pay, terms and conditions.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies involved in the row, was not invited to attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Aslef members have taken 18 days of strikes since the dispute started, causing huge disruption to passengers in the capital, wider South East and other regions.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said in a recent message on X, formerly Twitter: “Fourteen years without a workforce strategy has left our railways understaffed, reliant on voluntary working and lurching from one crisis to the next. Our urgent priority is to reset workforce relations and put passengers first.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “The Transport Secretary has been clear she wants to reset industrial relations for the benefit of passengers and the workforce.
“Today officials resumed talks with Aslef, holding a constructive meeting as we look to resolve this long-running dispute.
“Further conversations will be held in the coming weeks.”
Sir Keir Starmer was on Wednesday facing his first Prime Minister’s Questions since becoming PM after a small revolt on Tuesday by Labour MPs over not axing the two-child benefit limit.
