Deserted railway stations across the UK resemble the “darkest days of Covid”, Network Rail’s chief executive has said amid the biggest rail strikes in three decades.
Speaking from the concourse at Waterloo station on Tuesday morning, Andrew Haines said the major London transport hub was like a “wasteland”.
“It’s devastating for passengers,” he told Sky News. “I mean this is a wasteland and it’s like the darkest days of Covid – passengers alienated from the railway because we can’t run a service for them and it breaks my heart.
“I really, really apologise to passengers who are facing that and we know there are some real life issues for people who can’t travel today. It’s so wrong.”
Mr Haines also denied that the government pressured to cap a proposed pay increase for rail workers at 3 per cent.
Half of Britain’s rail lines will be closed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Unite walk out over pay, jobs and conditions.
