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.
On Friday, members of the union Aslef start the first of three 24-hour strikes that will affect 16 rail operating companies in England as part of its 20-month dispute over pay.
However, on Thursday Aslef called off two daylong tube strikes planned for the following Monday and Saturday 4 May after receiving a proposal from Transport for London that it said resolved the key issues in the dispute.
The run of single-day national network strikes starts on Friday with drivers working for Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway and CrossCountry. All five operators will run 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 trains cancelled on the strike days. Services on the days before and after the strikes could also 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.
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.”
Last month, 96% of the union’s members voted to take action. Train drivers have already held 13 one-day strikes 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.
“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.”
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Aslef has said it would continue to strike for a better pay deal after the union rejected an 8% offer last spring.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: “We are sorry that this round of strikes called by the Aslef leadership risks disrupting journeys.
“While we are doing all we can to keep trains running and we will work with our industry partners to keep as many trains running as possible, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Thursday 4 April to Tuesday 9 April. Our advice is to check before you travel and follow the latest travel information.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike … Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the transport secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table – taking train drivers’ average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000.”
