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Train strikes 2022 LIVE: Rail walkout grinds Britain to a halt as stations left DESERTED & PM warns of more dates ahead | The Sun
RAIL strikes are expected to cause the cancellation of about 80% of train services across Britain today.
Train travellers have been urged to stay at home unless absolutely necessary up and down the country after last ditch talks failed to resolve a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Half the rail network will shut down on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in the biggest walkout in 30 years, the RMT confirmed yesterday.
From Tuesday, train passengers will face chaos with only a fifth of services running and half of lines closed, due to the biggest strike by rail workers for a generation.
According to reports in the Guardian and BBC, only around 20% of rail services will be running today.
Train services are expected to be impacted on the days without planned strike action as well due to knock-on effects – with about 60% of normal services running.
One unforeseen result of these strikes is that over HALF of the trains to Glastonbury have been cancelled, leaving many festival goers stranded just a day before it starts.
This could be a disaster for the festival, as 200,000 people flock to the iconic event.
Read our rail strike 2022 live blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Rush hour hell as people trek to work by foot, bike and bus
Rush-hour commuters in the UK faced chaos on Tuesday as railway workers launched the network's biggest strike in more than three decades, forcing people to trek to work on foot, by bike, bus — or simply not bother at all.
The RMT rail union argues the strikes are necessary as wages have failed to keep pace with UK inflation, which has hit a 40-year high and is on course to keep rising.
Last-ditch talks to avert the work stoppage broke down on Monday, meaning more than 50,000 RMT members will walk out for three days this week.
Train and London Underground stations, normally a sea of people for the morning rush, were deserted or even locked, with just a skeleton service running on many networks across the country.
Passengers were warned not to travel all week, with two more days of strike action scheduled for Thursday and Saturday wreaking havoc to schedules.
In London, cab firms reported a surge in demand, while main roads were packed with buses and cars, and cyclists weaving in between.
Long queues formed at bus stops on the outskirts of London shortly after 6:00 am, but many gave up as services carried on without stopping, already full.
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Bristol Temple Meads station DESERTED
A few passengers are pictured waiting for Bristol Temple Meads train station to open.
The station opened at 7am today due to the rail strikes, it normally opens at 4.30am.
Today is the first of three national rail strikes that are likely to cripple the train network all week.
A few passengers wait for Bristol Temple Meads train station to open. The station opened at 7am today due to the rail strikes, it normally opens at 4.30am.Credit: SWNS - Joseph Gamp
Passengers SLAM 'outrageous' strikes
Susan Millson, 69, from Clapham, southwest London, said the rail strikes are "outrageous" and "awful" as she was forced to cancel her trip to East Grinstead to see her sister for the day.
Speaking at Clapham Junction station, Ms Millson said she had hoped that a train to East Grinstead might be running so she came to the station only to discover the services had been affected by the industrial action.
Asked if she would find an alternative means of travel, she said: "It's not worth it. By the time you get there, you've got to think about getting back and who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. I know there isn't a strike but it's going to have a knock-on effect."
On how she feels about her day being ruined, she said: "I just think it's outrageous that there is no give and take between the unions and the Government. No one is giving any leeway at the moment, it's awful, it's just awful.
"It's a nice day as well," she added.
"No one can afford to strike at the moment the way the country is, it's awful and now we've got this."
- Joseph Gamp
RMT invited to formal talks on July 1 to discuss working practices
Network Rail (NR) has asked the biggest rail workers' union to attend formal consultation talks next month on introducing "modern working practices".
A letter was handed to Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), at the end of talks on Monday evening.
Meetings were held throughout the day but failed to avert three days of strikes by RMT members which crippled train services on Tuesday and will be repeated on Thursday and Saturday.
The letter, written by Paul Rutter of NR, says: "We have always made clear to you that we needed to make material progress in these discussions and that we needed to implement meaningful changes to working practices by April 2023.
"I am still hopeful that we can agree a way forward. We cannot, however, delay any longer and with that in mind we intend to consult formally with you on the implementation of changes to a number of working practices which we believe can be changed within the existing agreements and T&Cs (terms and conditions) under which our Maintenance and Works Delivery staff are employed.
"We will also press ahead with consultation on the implementation of certain technologies in order to make the railway a safer and more efficient workplace.
"Whilst we do not believe that we need the agreement from our trade unions to make these changes, we would much prefer to implement them with your agreement and co-operation."
- Joseph Gamp
PM urges passengers to 'stay the course' in face of crippling rail strikes
Boris Johnson warned train passengers they must "stay the course" in the face of the "unnecessary aggravation" caused by rail strikes.
The Prime Minister told a meeting of the Cabinet that reforms are vital for the rail industry and those who work in it.
Millions of people are suffering disruption as only a fifth of trains are running on Tuesday and half of lines are closed.
Services are generally restricted to main lines, but even those are only open between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have walked out in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Mr Johnson said: "I say this to the country as a whole, we need to get ready to stay the course.
"To stay the course, because these reforms, these improvements in the way we run our railways are in the interests of the travelling public, they will help to cut costs for farepayers up and down the country."
- Joseph Gamp
NHS worker fears Glastonbury plans ruined by rail strikes
An NHS worker from Liverpool has said he fears he will not be allowed into Glastonbury Festival after rail strikes hit his travel plans.
Huw, who did not wish to share his second name, booked a coach ticket to Glastonbury in October 2019 before the event was later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The 28-year-old patient-facing worker has since moved to Liverpool but his ticket requires him to travel via a festival-organised coach from Brighton at 7am on Wednesday.
He does not finish work until 9pm on Tuesday and the final train from Liverpool to London is at 4pm, so he has now spent £70 on the earliest available bus to the festival on Thursday morning hoping he will be allowed entrance.
"Festival tickets are given out on the coach, so there's a very real possibility that this rail strike means I can't actually get into the festival," Huw told the PA news agency.
"I'm making my own way from Liverpool on Thursday morning and will be relying on the goodwill of the Brighton coach driver to hand my festival ticket over either to the box office or to my mates who'll meet me at the gate… hopefully common sense prevails."
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Packed Elizabeth Line train at London Ealing Broadway station
Millions of people are suffering disruption as the largest rail strike for a generation cripples Britain's train services.
Only a fifth of trains are running on Tuesday and half of lines are closed as around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have walked out.
Services are generally restricted to main lines, but even those are only open between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Usually busy stations such as London Euston are nearly deserted except for union picket lines.
Passengers squeeze into a packed Elizabeth Line train at Ealing Broadway on the first day of three planned days of national rail strikes - Joseph Gamp
Ashford International staff outnumbered passengers by 10 to one
Staff outnumbered passengers by 10 to one at Ashford International station on Tuesday morning due to the rail strike.
Staff were posted by the entrances and exits of the station, directing the few passengers where to go.
At the normally bustling commuter hub with a frequent high-speed service into London, trains to the capital are running twice an hour.
Most other services to locations such as Tonbridge, Ramsgate and Canterbury have been suspended.
The Eurostar is running a reduced service but is passing straight through Ashford, as stops were suspended during the pandemic.
- Joseph Gamp
Several Labour MPs join RMT picket lines
Several Labour MPs have joined RMT pickets to show their support for rail workers taking strike action on Tuesday morning.
Ian Lavery, the MP for Wansbeck and former chair of the Labour Party, joined a picket in Morpeth, tweeting: "Solidarity with the @RMTunion today and all days."
Beth Winter, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, tweeted: "Complete solidarity with striking @RMTunion members today.
"The Trades Unions are the organised working class… the workers united will never be defeated."
Tahir Ali, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, said he would be joining pickets later on Tuesday and posted: "Solidarity to all those who are out taking action to protect jobs, ensure safety, and win better pay and conditions."
- Joseph Gamp
National Rail Enquiries website crashes
The National Rail Enquiries website has stopped working.
Passengers attempting to use the service to find out what trains are running during the rail strike are being shown a message stating: "500 Internal Server Error".
- Joseph Gamp
Industrial action 'taking us back to days of union strikes' says Shapps
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the industrial action on the railways is "taking us back to the bad old days of union strikes" as he vowed to "push on with these reforms anyway".
He told Sky News: "I hear the unions say it's about pay, it's about job cuts, in fact there's a pay offer on the table and the job cuts are by and large voluntary.
"So it's unnecessary, it's taking us back to the bad old days of union strikes and they've walked away now from the negotiations saying they're going to strike and calling off any chance of a resolution.
"We're going to have to push on with these reforms anyway."
- Joseph Gamp
Stations left DESERTED as industrial action begins
Train passengers are being hit by major disruption due to the largest strike by rail workers for a generation.
Usually busy stations such as London Euston were nearly deserted except for picket lines by union members early today, with the start of services delayed until 7.30am.
Even then only a fifth of services will run, half of lines will remain closed, and the network will be shut down at 6.30pm.
Much of Britain will have no passenger trains for the entire day, including most of Scotland and Wales, the whole of Cornwall and Dorset, and places such as Chester, Hull, Lincoln and Worcester.
Last-ditch talks failed to resolve the bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, with all sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.
Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have walked out.
People look at the departures board at Victoria Station, in London, Britain June 21, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley - henry moore
What trains will run in Scotland today?
Tomorrow will see the UK hit with the biggest rail strike in 30 years.
Some services will remain operational however.
The BBC has listed which ones will run in Scotland.
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Bathgate: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Hamilton/Larkhall: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Lanark: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Shotts: one train per hour
When are the RMT rail strikes
The UK is currently bracing itself for the biggest rail strike in 30 years, but when exactly will trains stop running?
The RMT members are holding 24-hour strikes on three days:
- Tuesday 21 June
- Thursday 23 June
- Saturday 25 June
However, if the workers do not get what they have requested, we could see further strikes
Mass shortages
Many train services have been cancelled with “shortage of train crew” given among the reasons ahead of a national walkout of rail workers.
And a number of train companies are running emergency timetables today, warning people to only travel if necessary.
But Treasury chief secretary Simon Clarke said earlier today it is likely the rail strike will go ahead and insisted it is not up to the Government to resolve the dispute.Edit
- henry moore
Last-ditch talks fail, strike will go ahead
This afternoon, the RMT top brass met with rail bosses for last-ditch talks regarding tomorrow’s strike.
These talks failed, meaning the strike will now go ahead.
“We are moving on now to the next phase of this campaign,” Mick Lynch, the head of the RMT rail union, said.
- henry moore
Major strike could send UK back to the 70s
Meanwhile, teachers, binmen and posties have threatened to join the walkout – causing chaos unseen since the 1970s.
A reduced timetable this week will operate just 20 per cent of train services on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
And a map of misery has illustrated how just half of the country’s network will be open.
Network Rail said that no passenger services will serve locations such as Penzance in Cornwall, Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in South Wales, Holyhead in North Wales, Chester in Cheshire and Blackpool, Lancashire.
There will also be no passenger trains running north from Glasgow or Edinburgh.
- henry moore
RMT blames government for strike
The RMT Union, which is set to plunge the nation into travel hell this week, has claimed the government are to blame for the strike.
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said there would only be a solution if ministers gave workers the right to negotiate.
“What we’ve come to understand is the dead hand of this government is all over this dispute. Until they allow these employers to negotiate freely I can’t see we’re going to get a resolution,” he said.
- henry moore
The strike is set to go ahead, here is TFL’s advice for avoiding it
The UK is set to be plunged into travel CHAOS this week, as thousands of rail workers go on strike.
TFL have been relatively quiet on the situation, but they have released a statement giving advice to weary travellers.
Its advice? Simply avoid using London’s trains
A TfL statement said: “We are advising customers to avoid travelling on Tuesday 21 June, when strike action will severely disrupt most of TfL’s and national rail’s services.
“If you need to travel, you are advised to complete your journey by 18:00.
“Disruption on all Tube lines will continue through the morning of Wednesday 22 June.
“No London Underground services are expected to run before 08:00, when they will begin running with delays.
“We encourage customers to avoid making journeys until mid-morning.”
- henry moore
Downing street warns of commuter chaos ahead of strike
Downing Street has warned it will be “extremely difficult” commuting during the rail strikes.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “For those that have no choice but to come in it will be extremely difficult tomorrow and I think the public will understandably want to know why they are being put in this position.
“We believe we are seeking to offer a fair and reasonable pay rise and modernise the railway services for the long term, and we need to get rid of some of these outdated rules and procedures, some of which have not been updated for decades and which don’t serve the public.”
- henry moore
Grant Shapps claims unions and rail companies need to ‘work together’ to end strikes
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps denied that he is “the problem” in relation to rail strikes.
He told Sky News: “The actual unions need to sit down with the employers because this is a highly technical discussion around 20 different areas of modernisation that are required on the railway, to make sure the railways can continue to function.
“We’ve given £16 billion of taxpayers’ money through coronavirus to make sure that none of those railway employees lost their jobs.
“So they need to work on this together between the union and the employers.”
- Jon Rogers
Unions declare war on Britain
Rail unions declared war on Britain last night by threatening to stage crippling strikes for months to come.
In a speech yesterday afternoon, RMT boss ‘Mad Mick’ Lynch warned the misery has only just begun.
He said the rail strike will go on “as long as it needs to” until bosses cave to his eye-watering pay demands.
In a call to arms to his 40,000-strong army of members, he added: “We call on our members to stand firm, support the action and mount the pickets.”
Britain should brace itself for a “wave” of strikes across the entire economy, he said – fuelling fears we are heading for 1970s style industrial unrest.
- henry moore
What are the rail strikers asking for?
With the rail strike going ahead this week, plunging much of the UK’s transport services into chaos, the RMT Union has outlined what exactly it hopes to achieve.
In a statement, the union said: “We want a transport system that operates for the benefit of the people, for the needs of society and our environment – not for private profit.”
In practice their demands would see rail workers get a seven per cent pay increase, to rise with inflation.
The average salary of a train driver is £54,000 per year – a seven per cent rise on that would see them raking in £57,780.
Moreover, the union believes many workers were wrongfully let go during Covid, so they are asking for stronger job security.
- henry moore
What trains will run in Scotland tomorrow?
Tomorrow will see the UK hit with the biggest rail strike in 30 years.
Some services will remain operational however.
The BBC has listed which ones will run in Scotland.
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Bathgate: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Hamilton/Larkhall: two trains per hour
- Glasgow – Lanark: two trains per hour
- Edinburgh – Glasgow via Shotts: one train per hour
When are the RMT rail strikes
The UK is currently bracing itself for the biggest rail strike in 30 years, but when exactly will trains stop running?
The RMT members are holding 24-hour strikes on three days:
- Tuesday 21 June
- Thursday 23 June
- Saturday 25 June
However, if the workers do not get what they have requested, we could see further strikes
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