Nearly
all


train
services
in
England
are
likely
to
be
cancelled
tomorrow,
as
the
drivers’
union
ASLEF
stages
a
24-hour
strike.

Most
English
operators
are
affected,
with
the
exceptions
of
Merseyrail,
Transport
for
London
and
Tyne
&
Wear
Metro.

Neither
ScotRail
nor
Transport
for
Wales
are
in
dispute
with
ASLEF,
but
cross-border
services
from
England
will
also
be
disrupted.

Tomorrow’s
walkout
will
be
followed
by
an
RMT
strike
on
Saturday,
but
limited
services
are
expected
to
run
some
lines,
although
ASLEF
will
also
be
staging
an
overtime
ban
on
Saturday
which
could
mean
that
drivers
are
not
available
for
some
shifts.

The
RMT
has
made
a
bid
to
end
the
walkouts.
Almost
a
week
ago,
the
union’s
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
told
the
Rail
Delivery
Group:
’I
believe
that
both
parties
are
of
the
view
that
we
need
to
navigate
a
way
through
the
dispute.’

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
has
yet
to
publish
a
response
to
this
letter,
but
when
the
latest
strikes
were
announced
the
RDG
said:
‘The
industry
will
be
working
hard
to
keep
as
many
services
running
as
possible.
There
is
no
question
the
strikes
called
by
the
RMT
and
ASLEF
leaderships
are
deliberately
designed
to
target
passengers
who
want
to
enjoy
various
sporting
events
and
festivals
during
the
bank
holiday
and
at
the
end
of
the
summer
holidays,
disrupting
their
plans,
hurting
local
economies
and
forcing
more
cars
on
to
the
road.

‘This,
despite
the
RMT
having
repeatedly
refused
their
memberships
a
vote
on
offers
of
up
to
13
per
cent
for
the
lowest
paid
over
two
years,
which
could
easily
settle
this
dispute.’

Meanwhile,
Network
Rail
has
told
its
staff
who
joined
strikes
since
June
2022
that
they
will
not
be
receiving
annual
bonuses
this
year,
which
are
expected
to
be
around
£300.

NR
said:
‘Our
position
was
made
very
clear
–
any
discretionary
payments
would
focus
on
those
who
continued
to
support
rail
services
during
industrial
action.’

Mick
Lynch
has
responded
that
Network
Rail’s
decision
was
‘a
transparent
attempt
to
divide
the
workforce’,
and
an
online
petition
has
been
set
up
which
calls
for
all
Network
Rail
staff
to
be
paid
the
bonus.