By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Passengers across Britain have been advised not to travel by train unless it is absolutely necessary following the commencement of a two-day strike by train workers under the aegis of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union domiciled at Network Rail and Aslef union.
The industrial action which commenced on Friday morning allows only about 20% of trains to run between the hours of 7.30am and 6.30pm on main intercity and urban lines.
The withdrawal of service by train drivers in the Aslef union has left major stations including Birmingham New Street and London Victoria with no passenger trains at all.
With thousands of workers in the sector on strike, large parts of rural England, Scotland and Wales will have no trains running throughout the next two days when the action will last.
Normal train services are expected return on Sunday, after four weeks of disruption resulting from industrial action, including a ban on overtime by Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, RMT over the festive period.
Network Rail has estimated that at least £400m has been cumulatively lost in ticket sales since the dispute started last year.
The leaders of the unions, along with rail industry bosses are expected to meet the rail minister, Huw Merriman, on Monday, after the Department for Transport promised to help “facilitate” an agreement in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
However, the government has heightened tensions by pledging to legislate for even more restrictive strike laws, including the introduction of minimum service levels during rail strikes.
RMT and Aslef members recently voted to extend the mandate for industrial action for a further six months.
Mick Whelan, the General Secretary of Aslef, said on Thursday that it was “inevitable” that further strikes would be held unless the deadlock was broken.
