National
Rail


services
in
England
are
badly
disrupted
again
today,
as
ASLEF
stages
the
first
of
its
24-hour
strikes
this
week.

Nearly
all
English
operators
are
affected,
with
the
exceptions
of
c2c
and
Merseyrail.

Although
domestic
services
run
by
ScotRail
and
Transport
for
Wales
are
not
involved,
there
is
disruption
to
trains
in
Scotland
run
by
Avanti
West
Coast
and
LNER,
and
in
Wales
to
trains
run
by
GWR
and,
again,
Avanti
West
Coast.

Many
routes
have
no
service,
and
where
trains
can
run
they
will
be
much
less
frequent
than
usual.
Even
these
limited
services
will
cease
by
around
18.00
at
the
latest.

Today’s
walkout
is
set
to
be
followed
by
an
RMT
stoppage
on
Friday
and
by
ASLEF’s
second
strike
on
Saturday.

The
disputes
over
pay
and
conditions
appear
to
have
reached
deadlock
again.
The
RMT
has
now
gained
the
legal
right
to
strike
when
it
wishes
between
now
and
November,
following
a
new
ballot
of
its
members,
and
the
union
has
also
gained
a
new
mandate
for
industrial
action
on
London
Underground.