Rail passengers are bracing for travel disruption as train drivers bring some routes on the national network to a halt in a wave of strikes, but two days of similar action on the London Underground have been called off.
Members of Aslef start the first of three 24-hour strikes on Friday, affecting 16 rail companies operating lines in England and some cross-border routes into Scotland and Wales, as part of its 20-month dispute over pay.
However, on Thursday the union said it had called off two day-long tube strikes planned for Monday 8 April and Saturday 4 May after receiving a proposal during negotiations that resolved the key issues in the dispute.
On Friday, drivers working for Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway and CrossCountry will strike, with all five running no services on the day.
On Saturday, strikes will take place on Chiltern, GWR, LNER, Northern and TransPennine, while on Monday services on Greater Anglia, GTR’s Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern/Gatwick Express, Southeastern, South Western Railway and SWR Island Line will be cancelled.
Passengers have been warned by operators to expect significant disruption, with most services cancelled on the strike days. Services on the days before and after the industrial action could be affected.
Drivers in Scotland and Wales are not on strike but cross-border rail services will be disrupted.
The strikes coincide with an overtime ban by the union for all operators, which runs from 4 to 6 April, and then 8 to 9 April. It is expected that it will make short-notice cancellations and disruption more likely when travelling on these days.
Last month, 96% of Aslef members voted to take action, which would be the union’s 14th one-day strike since the dispute started in 2022.
Speaking after the vote last month, Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, said: “Our members voted overwhelmingly – yet again – for strike action.
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“Those votes show – yet again – a clear rejection by train drivers of the ridiculous offer put to us in April last year by [the train operators’ body] the Rail Delivery Group, which knew that offer would be rejected because a land grab for all the terms and conditions we have negotiated over the years would never be accepted by our members.”
Aslef has said it will continue to strike for a better pay deal after the union rejected an 8% offer last spring.
Announcing the cancellation of the London Underground strikes, an Aslef official said: “Management have confirmed that they have disbanded their ‘trains modernisation’ team and will not be implementing their plans to change drivers’ working arrangements without agreement. They have also agreed to reinstate annual refresher training stopped during the pandemic.”
The Rail Delivery Group has said: “We want to resolve this dispute, but the Aslef leadership need to recognise that hard-pressed taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week just to keep services running post-Covid.” The industry body also said it remained “open to talks to find a solution to this dispute”.