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Second rail strike brings more misery to the journey home
Dick Murray06.08.09
Rail commuters face a nightmare journey home again tonight after the start of a 48-hour strike closed down busy routes to and from Liverpool Street station.
Many National Express East Anglia passengers had to travel across country by car or bus to use alternative trains into the capital.
Tomorrow 150,000 passengers face more misery in the second half of the strike.
The company only managed to run a little over 100 trains today compared with the usual 1,800 and it expects to run the same service tomorrow.
Routes from Stansted, Southend Victoria, Colchester and Norwich were reduced to one train an hour, and pickets were on duty outside the main stations, including Liverpool Street, and train depots.
Union bosses say they will increase strike action next week and “lock down” the entire East Anglia network in the dispute over pay and working conditions.
The action started last week and two more stoppages are scheduled for next Thursday and Friday and 20 to 21 August. The Aslef and RMT unions have joined forces in the dispute. Next week a third, the TSSA, will get involved.
Bob Crow, the RMT leader, said his members had shown they were “solid, angry and determined”.
The rail company apologised to passengers and condemned the unions' “unrealistic” pay demands.
Reader views (9)
I have been working for National Rail long enough now to have some understanding as to why members fight for pay increases.
I for one, have been spat at, had a disciplinary by my company simply for getting a violent drunk who attacked a female passenger off my train I was told that I was provoking conflict as opposed to I was supporting a passenger.
It appears to of become an official rule by management, that we are not allowed to challenge any anti social behaviour but in actual fact avoid it!
Some rail staff have been taken to court for challenging unruley people aswell as losing their jobs.
Now we just learn to sit back and take the abuse thrown at us because management want to avoid have to pay out for insurance costs should we get assaulted.
The unions are very much aware of instances like this, hence why they fight for pay increases.
Our train drivers have bricks thrown, stones thrown, idiots running across level crossing to contend with yet, somehow some of the public out there chose to judge our jobs at their own convience, when the reality is they have little understanding about what we face.
- Anon, Hertfordshire
The RMT are a bullying anarchist group , even telling their members who to vote for .
- Ronnie, UK
Could someone please tell me why Bob Crow still has a job. He has done nothing but cause problems for this country (and London in particular). Most (or should that be all) of his gripes have been without merit and have yet to meet a single person who actually supports anything he has ever said.
- Geraldine, London
Lets all say stuff it?.
Then we can put it on expenses, what a good Idea?.
What do you say Bob?.
- John L., Scarborough N.YKS. England. U.K.
As a commuter on the line, all I can say is if the staff are treated half as badly as the passengers are by NXEA, then I'm surprised this hasn't happened much earlier.
A good example is getting turfed out of train before it's destination because it's running late. Then there is the small matter of the continual hold-ups caused by their ticket barriers. Ultimately, NXEA have forgotten what they are there for.
- P Knight, Ipswich
More pay does not equal safety - as the sign in the photo would suggest.
Just more union thuggery.
- Trunk, US
I would advise Crow and his cohorts to not be around Liverpool Street tomorrow as I will most certainly confornt them and will also ask the members of the union if they are happy with the pay rise their union leader received.
The guy is just a commie and a traitor to this country and should be put on trial for treason.
- Peterb, Chelmsford, England
Your picture shows Crow in front of what appears to be an RMT banner that uses the LUL Roundel without licensing approval. TfL should protect its intellectual property.
- Tim, USA
It's history repeating itself, with the same result.
Train passengers numbers will fall as people find ways round it. The Big Boss Union leader will leads his members into a disaster. They lose everything, he laughs all the way to the bank plus a big pension at the end.
Unfortunately there is no way round human stupidity.
- K. Curwen, Enfield UK
