Brace for 'Tragic Thursday' tomorrow: Commuters warned to avoid last trains out ... trends now
Rail services will be crippled tomorrow because of a strike by train drivers - with a warning of 'faster and harder' industrial action unless their pay dispute is resolved.
Members of Aslef in 15 train operators will walk out, leaving large parts of the country with no trains all day.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said it is 'inevitable' that further strikes will be held unless there is a breakthrough to the long running row.
He warned that strikes could escalate, saying train drivers wanted to go 'harder and faster' after years of not receiving a pay rise.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said it is 'inevitable' that further strikes will be held unless there is a breakthrough to the long running row.
Thousands of Aslef members working for 15 train operators will walk out tomorrow, leaving large parts of the country with no trains all day.
His comments came as train passengers suffered more disruption on Wednesday because of the second day of a 48 hour stoppage by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) in a separate dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Another RMT 48 hour strike will start on Friday, ending a week of travel chaos on the railways,
On Wednesday, around half of Britain's railway lines were closed and only a fifth of services ran as tens of thousands of RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train operators walked out.
Mr Whelan told PA he felt rail employers and the Government were 'playing games' rather than making any serious attempt to resolve the pay dispute.
The last trains leave London this evening, before a mass strike culls 90 per cent of services tomorrow
21,000 Aslef workers will walk out in a mass strike tomorrow on what has been dubbed 'Tragic Thursday' - with less than ten per cent of train services running
'The situation is getting worse and my members now want to go harder and faster because of the lack of progress.
'We are in a weird world where the Government will do anything to keep private companies in the industry.
'It is inevitable that more strikes will be held and probably escalate.
'The train companies say their hands have been tied by the government. While the government - which does not employ us - says it's up to the companies to negotiate with us.
'We are always happy to negotiate - we never refuse to sit down at the table and talk - but these companies have offered us nothing, and that is unacceptable.'
Among the operators which will run no trains all day on Thursday are Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Northern, Southern, Southeastern, Thameslink and TransPennine Express.
