On the 21, 23 and 25th of June members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail along with 13 operators are striking, leaving the UK in the biggest chaos of the last 30 years.
⚠️ A special timetable will operate from Monday 20 to Sunday 26 June inclusive.
— Network Rail (@networkrail) June 17, 2022
⏰ Services will start later and finish earlier than usual, between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
🙏 Please only travel if essential, expect disruption and check before you travel:https://t.co/J29niIOr7H pic.twitter.com/YeQfKYBT7e
1. Railway
The biggest rail strike to date is happening in the UK right now, with passengers facing widespread cancellations and disruptions. More than 40,000 railway staff abstained from working over pay and working conditions.
The disruption will result in the closure of half of Britain’s rail lines. Out of the regular 20,000 daily rail services only 4,500 are expected to run during the strike. The lack of railway transport has left much of Britain, including Scotland, Wales and the whole of Cornwall and Dorset, with few passenger trains during the day.
The effects of the strike have been minimised by the possibility of working from home, but for many Londoners that’s not a choice. With the country on the brink of recession, this just might tip it over.
Pedro Gonçalves, a London resident, told Travel Tomorrow
“I think rail workers and every other worker has got absolute right to try and ensure they get the fairest pay settlement that they can get, especially in these incredible tough times. But I don’t think unions are thinking about the chaos ensuing for many workers that also need that pay check to put food on the table. The effects of the strike have been minimised by the possibility of working from home, but for many Londoners that’s not a choice. With the country on the brink of recession, this just might tip it over,” told Pedro Gonçalves, a London resident, to Travel Tomorrow.
Transport for London has advised passengers to avoid travelling and to complete their journey before 18h if they must make a trip since the little services available are expected to run only between 7h30 and 18h30.
Mick Lynch, the RMT General Gecretary, said the rail dispute could not be resolved without the government “removing the shackles” on Network Rail and train operating companies, The Guardian reported.
Lynch told BBC’s Newsnight on June 20 that Network Rail had offered a 2% pay rise with the possibility of a further 1% later dependent on efficiency savings.
2. Undergound
The tube in the British capital was nearly out of order on Tuesday June 21 as workers prepared a 24-hour walk-out. All tube lines are currently fully or partially suspended with buses, the DLR/Transport for London and tram services being the only public transport currently unaffected.
TfL services and national rail will be affected by strikes until Sunday 26 June
— Transport for London 🏳️🌈 (@TfL) June 22, 2022
ℹ️ Find details on our website
🗺 Before travelling, use our travel tools to plan your journey
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the public on notice for further strike action as Downing Street said it would “not give in” to demands from the rail unions. Johnson tried to soften commuters saying they must be ready to “stay the course” and urged rail bosses and unions to find an agreement on a modernisation package to safeguard the future of the industry.
“These reforms… are in the interest of the travelling public.”
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 21, 2022
Boris Johnson urges rail bosses and unions to “get on with” reforming the rail industry and says commuters need to “stay the course” during this week’s strikes that are affecting millions of passengers. pic.twitter.com/NyRUISGH93
A couple travelling from Tel Aviv, Israel told BBC: “We just came from Gatwick and from Tel Aviv to take our first holiday in London. We want to get an Oyster card to get us to the hotel but the Underground is closed. It sucks. We have been here for an hour to try and find out, but they [the station staff] just tell us to ‘go here’ or ‘go there’,” complained Eliya Lavi.
