Families are facing end-of-summer travel misery after train drivers and border force workers announced a new wave of strikes.
Train drivers at LNER are to stage a series of strikes after alleging a breakdown in industrial relations and the breaking of agreements by the company, their union Aslef has announced.
Aslef said the issue was “entirely separate” from the national pay dispute which has seen drivers offered a 14pc pay rise over three years.
Here is everything you need to know about the strikes.
When will the strikes take place?
The strikes will take place on Saturdays and Sundays every weekend from Saturday, August 31, to Sunday, September 10.
Which train lines are affected?
LNER runs intercity services between London King’s Cross and major cities in northern England and Scotland, such as Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Leeds and Doncaster.
No other railway lines are expected to be on strike at the same time. Aslef members, including the strikers, were handed a 14.25 per cent pay rise by the Government on Wednesday.
How will the train strikes affect me?
It is not yet clear how comprehensively the Aslef strikes will be implemented by drivers. However, trains run by competing operators may offer an alternative. For example, a traveller wanting to visit St Andrews, which is served by Leuchars station, could take a Lumo train between London and Edinburgh and then a local ScotRail service to Leuchers.
Someone normally travelling between London and York on LNER could choose between services offered by both Grand Central Railway and Lumo.
While LNER dominates the East Coast main line, the strikes will not affect trains on the West Coast main line. Trains run by Avanti will continue to run between London and Glasgow and Edinburgh.
A number of football matches around the country are taking place on the weekends of the LNER strikes.
The Premier League declined to comment, while the Football League said it would be encouraging clubs to tell fans about alternative non-rail travel methods for getting to and from their grounds on match days.
Passengers could also consider long-distance coach operators National Express and MegaBus, which offer services to Scotland.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Yet another set of strikes will be incredibly frustrating for hospitality businesses, especially with LNER trains acting as a vital connection for travellers to visit popular destinations like Newcastle, Edinburgh, York and Durham, as well as London.
“The disruption at weekends will see staff facing challenges getting to work, families having plans cancelled and hospitality businesses losing sales, adding to the £3.5 billion in lost revenue over more than two years of industrial action.
“I urge all parties to urgently get round the table to negotiate a resolution that avoids these damaging strikes.”
Why are the strikes happening?
Aslef said it wants to force LNER bosses back around the negotiating table after its managers proved too good at mitigating previous strikes by driving trains themselves.
Mick Whelan, the union’s general secretary, said: “They chose to put managers into our positions, first during strike days, and then it escalated into every day, including periods when the company did not have a rest day working agreement, and drivers would not work non-contractual overtime.”
Nigel Roebuck of Aslef said: “This dispute started nigh-on two years ago with our members complaining about consistently being badgered for “favours” by managers outside of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely, which is also against our agreements.
“The bottom line is that LNER does not employ enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised passengers, and the Government, it will run.
“This train operating company’s legacy of under-established depots means it has always relied on favours and goodwill and, when that evaporated, they started to try to bully our members and then to break our agreements.”
What have the train companies said?
LNER said: “Our priority focus will be on minimising disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays.
“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.”
What does the Government say?
A Department of Transport spokesman said: “This is extremely disappointing for passengers. The Transport Secretary has called on both ASLEF and LNER to get around the table and work in good faith to resolve this dispute and as quickly as possible.”
