Train drivers to stage strike on 30 July as summer travel misery deepens

Drivers at eight rail companies to stage 24-hour walkout

Aslef drivers will go on strike at the end of the month (PA)

A second UK-wide rail strike is set to take place on 30 July as train drivers across eight companies walk out for 24 hours.

The action will come just three days after a nationwide rail strike by RMT union members working at Network Rail and eight other train operators on 27 July.

The strike on 30 July will involve Aslef members at Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains as part of an ongoing dispute over pay.

Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, said: “We don’t want to go on strike – strikes are the result of a failure of negotiation – and this union, since I was elected GS in 2011, has only ever been on strike, until this year, for a handful of days.

“We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – not least because our friends and families use public transport, too, and we believe in building trust in the railways in Britain – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike.

“But we’ve been forced into this position by the train companies, driven by the Tory government. The drivers at the companies where we are striking have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years – since April 2019.

“And these companies are offering us nothing, saying their hands have been tied by the government.”

The union is claiming that its members are being told to take a “real terms” pay cut due to inflation “running ahead at 9 per cent, 10 per cent, and even 11 per cent this year”

“Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open to talks if the train companies, or the government, want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer,” added Mr Whelan.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “It’s incredibly disappointing that, just three days after their ballots closed, Aslef bosses have already opted for destructive strike action, instead of engaging in constructive talks.

“Not only that but, by seemingly coordinating strike dates around the Commonwealth Games, it’s clear union bosses are determined to cause as much misery as possible and derail an event the whole country is looking forward to.

“Train drivers, such as those Aslef represent, earn, on average, just under £60,000 – more than twice the UK average and significantly more than the very workers who will be most impacted by these strikes despite stumping up £600 per household to keep the railway running throughout the pandemic.

“Our railway is in desperate need of modernisation to make it work better for passengers and be financially sustainable for the long term.

“I urge union bosses to reconsider this divisive action and instead work worth their employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.”