Train drivers belonging to the Aslef union and working for LNER will resume strike action on 31 August – and continue for 11 weekends, up to and including 10 January.
Their last walk-out was in May. But the reason for this stoppage is very different. The previous pay dispute rumbled on for three summers and was finally settled with a no-strings pay offer by the incoming Labour government.
This fresh bout of industrial action, announced two days after the agreement to boost wages by 15 per cent over three years, solely involves LNER. This is the state-owned train operator on the East Coast main line, which connects London King’s Cross with Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland.
Aslef accuses the rail firm of “bullying by management and persistent breaking of agreements”. LNER says: “We are surprised and disappointed to hear this news following recent constructive conversations.”
Caught in the middle, once again, the long-suffering passenger.
These are the key questions and answers.
Spell out the strike dates?
Train drivers will stop work every weekend from 31 August/1 September to 9/10 November. The walk-outs are aimed much more at holidaymakers, football fans and students returning to university than commuters. Saturday and Sunday are two of the busiest days of the week for rail travel, and naturally Aslef intends to cause as much disruption as possible.
What are the two sides saying?
Nigel Roebuck, Aslef’s full-time officer in northeast England, who leads on negotiations with LNER, says: “LNER does not employ enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised passengers, and the government, it will run.
“It has always relied on favours and goodwill and, when that evaporated, they started to try to bully our members.
“This dispute started nigh-on two years ago with our members complaining about consistently being badgered for ‘favours’ by managers outside of rostering agreements.”
The union is also unhappy about driver-managers covering “service gaps”.
Mr Roebuck says: “These managers who were, on strike days, scabbing, were paid a bounty of £500 per shift if it was their rest day or £175 for a normal working day. That’s on top of their salaries for their substantive roles of between £82,000 and £96,000.
“Industrial relations with our local reps are at breaking point and normal machinery of negotiation items are left undealt with or ignored.
“Relationships are toxic.”
When the strikes were called, a spokesperson for LNER said: “We are surprised and disappointed to hear this news following recent constructive conversations.
“We will continue to work with Aslef to find a way to end this long-running dispute which only damages the rail industry.
“Our priority focus will be on minimising disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays.”
What is the likely impact?
LNER is expected to run about one-third of its normal services – the vast majority on the core line from London King’s Cross to York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. On Saturday 31 August, services will begin at around 8.30am, with the final departures around 4.30pm and the last arrivals at about 9.30pm. London-Edinburgh trains will be every two hours, with more frequent services between London and York.
A few trains are likely to run direct between Leeds and London, but most travellers will connect at Doncaster.
Almost all the trains say sold out …
Yes, they do – on the LNER website, from Edinburgh to London only the 4.30pm southbound service on Saturday 31 August is shown as available. But by buying a Super Off Peak ticket from Haymarket you are able to step on board any LNER train – with the proviso that you may need to stand for some or all of the journey.
What alternatives are there?
Between London and Edinburgh, you can try to find seats on the budget rail operator Lumo or the slower Avanti West Coast route; go by road; or head for the airport. London to Newcastle offers much the same options; but instead of Avanti West Coast you can opt for Grand Central to nearby Sunderland and then travel by Metro to Newcastle.
With demand for the few trains that are running, flights on British Airways, easyJet or Ryanair from Edinburgh to London are likely to be cheaper than rail.
The long-distance bus companies – FlixBus, Megabus and National Express – are laying on extra coaches to meet demand for their services.
Are there shorter journeys on the East Coast main line?
The rail options look better.
- Between Edinburgh, Newcastle and York, you can travel on CrossCountry or TransPennine Express.
- York to London is served nonstop by Grand Central, though tickets may be scarce.
- From Doncaster south, Hull Trains is an option, also serving Grantham. At Peterborough, Thameslink trains run south to and through central London.
Is there any chance of the strikes being called off?
The two sides seem a very long way apart. With strike rosters for the first weekend now finalised, and the 7-8 September plans nearly finished, the first four strike days look very likely to go ahead. But such is the damage caused to train drivers’ pay, the reputation of LNER for reliability and the woeful finances of the rail industry, I would be surprised if all 22 days of strikes run their course.
Meanwhile, the airlines and long-distance bus operators will be delighted that once again the railway industry is delivering thousands more passengers into their services.