Passengers are advised not to travel by train during strikes next week, as it has been revealed that half the lines will be closed with only about one-fifth of the services running. Tens of thousands of workers will leave the UK on 21, 23 and 25 June, crippling the national rail network. The London Underground is also in a state of turmoil, with another 10,000 members of the RMT union due to leave on June 21. Transport for London published similar tips for not traveling on the Tube next Tuesday. The national rail timetable from June 20 to June 26 is still finalized, but the number of routes is expected to be around 4,500 compared to the usual 20,000, Network Rail reported.
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However, the disruption is also likely to hit the days without a strike next week, when only about 60% of regular services will be running. Southeastern and TransPennine are among the railway companies urging passengers to “travel only by rail if necessary”. Northern has asked people “not to travel” by train between Tuesday and Sunday. The full extent of the impact of the strikes was revealed Wednesday with Network Rail announcing that there will be no passenger services serving locations such as Penzance in Cornwall, Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in South Wales, Holyhead in North Wales, Chester in Cheshire and Blackpool. , Lancashire. There will also be no passenger trains north of Glasgow or Edinburgh. The open lines include the main West Coast line from London to Scotland via locations such as Birmingham and Manchester. The number of passenger services on strike days is expected to be reduced to around 4,500 compared to the usual 20,000. Members of the Rail, Shipping and Transport Union in the Rail Network and 13 railway operators will go on strike for three days next week in similar disputes over pay, jobs and pensions. The lines will be open only between 7.30 am. and 6.30 pm, which means that services will start later and end earlier than usual. Passengers “who have to travel” are asked to “plan ahead” to ensure they can complete their journey through this window, Network Rail said. The last flights from London to Scotland will depart early in the afternoon. Steve Montgomery, who chairs the Rail Delivery Group, said: “These strikes will affect the millions of people who use the train every day, including key workers, students with disabilities home, vacationers and those who attend important business and leisure events. “In cooperation with Network Rail, our plan is to continue to operate as many services as possible, but a major outage will be unavoidable and some parts of the network will be out of service, so passengers will need to plan their journeys carefully. and control their train times “. The train strikes sparked widespread controversy in the Commonwealth on Wednesday as Boris Johnson and Sir Kir Starmer clashed over questions from the prime minister. Mr Johnson was the first to strike at the cost of living crisis, rounding out Sir Keir, saying: “What would be useful to support the UK economy right now would be if the Labor leader quit their sphinx- silence for the approaching RMT strikes. Sir Keir replied: “It’s in the government. It could do something to stop the strikes. But he has not raised his finger. “I do not want the strikes to go ahead, but it does. “The country wants to stop so that it can fuel the division.” However, the Labor leader did not directly criticize the Railways, Shipping and Transport union over the strikes planned for next week. Mr Johnson accused Labor of being “on the side” of RMT strikers, adding: “We are on the side of the traveling public.”
