Tonight:
4°c
London commuters braced for rail strikes
13 Aug 2009Commuters and holidaymakers are facing rail chaos this morning with strike action crippling some of the busiest lines into London.
"Most services will not run," National Express East Anglia (NXEA) warned while those that do are expected to be "extremely busy".
Routes affected during the 48 hour strike include the Stansted Express which links the Essex airport to central London.
Talks will continue between the franchise and train drivers union Aslef, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) in the hope that the dispute can be resolved.
NXEA said it had done "everything possible" to prevent further disruption to passengers, including improving its pay offer, and blamed Aslef for backing out of a deal "at the last minute".
Managing director Andrew Chivers said: "Aslef are simply determined to continue to disrupt the lives of thousands of people completely unnecessarily."
Mr Chivers said Aslef had shown "complete disregard" for customers and the current economic climate "with expectations which are out of touch with what most workers in the UK are currently experiencing".
A spokesman for Aslef said the union's executive decided last night to call a full week of strike action next month.
He said negotiations had become "increasingly fractious and unproductive" and had resulted in "no notable progress".
Aslef leader Keith Norman said: "The company seems to live on another planet.
"Train drivers voted by 95% to 5% to back industrial action: the RMT vote was of a similar level and this week the TSSA has joined the three-week dispute.
"But despite this, NXEA doesn't seem to realise it has a problem, and certainly has shown no sign of doing anything to remedy it."
Mr Chivers said talk of a week-long strike was "absolutely disgraceful".
He apologised to passengers affected by the strikes and said the rail firm remained committed to "a fair and sensible resolution".
Last night there were signs that NXEA was edging closer to a deal with the RMT and TSSA.
The firm said it had improved its pay offer to a 1.5% increase in 2009 and a minimum of 2.0% again in 2010 "with no strings attached".
General secretary Bob Crow said there had been some movement in the negotiations but progress was slow.
"We will be looking to further discussions as soon as possible with the objective of reaching a negotiated settlement."
Manuel Cortes, assistant general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), said good progress had been made "but we could not iron out the final detail in time to affect the action".
The union was "hopeful" of reaching a settlement when talks resume today, he added.
Limited services will run into Liverpool Street from Stansted Airport, Southend Victoria Norwich and Colchester during the strike.
Tickets will be accepted on services run by c2c, First Capital Connect and East Midlands Trains during the strike.
The walkout, which ends at 11.59pm tomorrow, will create huge disruption to commuters in Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire who have already endured two 48 hour strikes in recent weeks.
One disgruntled commuter said unions were mistaken if they believed they had the public's sympathy.
Stuart Peskett, 35, a writer, of Chelmsford, Essex, travels into Liverpool Street every day.
"If the unions think that they will draw any sympathy by making the daily commute for tens of thousands of people a misery, then they are seriously mistaken," he said.
A fourth walkout is due to take place on August 20 and 21.
New proposals are also on the table in the dispute between members of the RMT and the Arriva franchise CrossCountry.
Union members are staging a month-long ban on overtime and non-rostered Sunday working which includes a refusal to clear litter from trains.
A spokesman for CrossCountry said it had tabled a revised proposal that has been "received positively" by the RMT representatives.
"This draft proposal will now considered further by the RMT and hopefully followed by a positive referendum of RMT members to secure a final agreement."
An RMT spokesman said the union is still considering the proposals and talks are ongoing.
