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ommuters in London are battling a second day of travel disruption as tens of thousands of workers at Network Rail and train operators continue the first of two 48-hour walkouts this week.
Across the country around half of railway lines are closed and only a fifth of services are running as the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) continues its industrial action crippling the transport network.
Train drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday before a second two-day RMT strike begins on Friday.
In London, Wednesday’s strike is affecting the Elizabeth Line which is running a severely delayed service between Paddington and Reading/Heathrow, and between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.
The walkout was also hitting the London Underground on Wednesday morning with several services partly suspended, including the Bakerloo and District lines. The London Overground is operating a reduced service until 6.30pm.
Some of the worst disruption was on the Circle Line, which at 11.25am was said by TfL to be “suspended due to train cancellations”.
Technology company TomTom said traffic congestion in London increased from 22% to 27% at 8am on Tuesday compared with the first working day of 2022.
Passenger footfall was down 84% on Tuesday compared with the average Tuesday, data from 20 Network Rail managed stations shows.
The new leader of the TUC on Wednesday called for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister in a bid to break deadlocked industrial disputes across the country.
Paul Nowak called for a change in government direction, saying ministers should open pay negotiations with unions.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Mr Nowak said public services were in crisis after years of “underfunding and understaffing”.
It comes after a poll suggested more Britons now oppose the rail strikes than those who back them.
Acording to the YouGov poll, less than half of the public back industrial action on the railways (43%).
Live updates
Pictured: Empty platforms at Stratford station
Government cannot afford rail pay rises, says Tory MP
Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said the Government cannot afford to give rail workers an “inflation-busting pay increase”.
He told TalkTV: “What we cannot afford… is to give rail workers an inflation-busting pay increase of 10% or more.”
He added that people on the lowest incomes have been given a “substantial package” and that more money will be available to them in the next week or so.
Asked about a potential meeting between Rishi Sunak and unions, Mr Clifton-Brown said: “I think the Prime Minister will be weighing this carefully up to see whether his intervention would actually bring about a breakthrough.”
Piccadilly Line users hit with severe delays after signal failure amid strikes chaos
Commuters have vented their anger as a signal failure caused the Piccadilly Line to come to a near standstill amid the strikes chaos.
Tube passengers have been hit with disruption across a number of lines early Wednesday due to a 48-hour rail strike.
But in addition, a signal failure in the Green Park area caused severe delays across the entire Piccadilly line, adding a fresh headache for commuters.
One commuter caught up in the disruption, Ewan, said: “Why does the Piccadilly Line never work. Useless.”
Pictured: Picket line at Euston
Mick Lynch, the boss of the RMT union leading the strike has arrived at a picket line at Euston station for the second day of industrial action.
‘Ministers need to negotiate’, says union leader
Paul Nowak, of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has called for ministers to open pay negotiations with unions amid the rail strikes.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Mr Nowak said public services were in crisis after years of “underfunding and understaffing”.
He wrote: “We can’t solve these problems without a fair deal for the people on the frontline.
“Every month experienced employees are quitting, with one in three public service staff now taking steps to leave their professions or actively considering it.
“This is simply unsustainable. But we cannot fix the staffing crisis in our schools, hospitals and elsewhere if we do not fix the underlying causes.
“That means talking in an open and constructive way about improving public sector pay. But so far your ministers have refused to negotiate directly about pay with unions.”
Which train operating companies are affected by today’s strike?
The RMT’s walkout for the second day in the 48-hour strike affects the following train operating companies:
– LNER
– Northern trains
– Avanti West Coast
– Southeastern
– Cross Country
– Chiltern Railways
– Greater Anglia
– Govia Thameslink and Gatwick Express)
– London Underground
– West Midlands Trains (plus London Northwestern Railway)
– Great Western Railway
– Transpennine Express
Which TfL services are disrupted by the strike?
The following lines are disrupted due to strike action:
Bakerloo – Bakerloo Line: No service between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone due to strike action.
Circle – Severe delays in the clockwise direction due to strike action, and minor delays anti-clockwise.
District – No service between Turnham Green and Richmond and severe delays between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon due to strike action.
Elizabeth line – No service between Paddington and Reading / Heathrow Terminals and between Liverpool Street and Shenfield due to strike action.
Hammersmith and City – Minor delays due to strike action.
London Overground – No service on any London Overground route due to strike action.
Meanwhile these lines are also experiencing disruption due to non-strike reasons:
Central – Minor delays due to train cancellations.
DLR – Minor delays between Bank / Tower Gate and Lewisham / Canning Town due to an earlier faulty train at Bank.
Piccadilly – No service between Hyde Park Corner and King’s Cross, eastbound only and severe delays on the rest of the line over a signal failure in the Green Park area.
London road traffic up amid strikes
Traffic congestion on London roads has increased as people take to cars to get around during the RMT’s walkout.
Technology company TomTom said traffic congestion in London increased from 22% to 27% at 8am on Tuesday compared with the first working day of 2022.
Meanwhile at stations, passenger footfall was down 84% on Tuesday compared with the average Tuesday, data from 20 Network Rail managed stations shows.
More Brits now oppose rail strikes than oppose – poll
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the second day of the RMT’s train strikes.
More Brits now oppose the rail strikes than support them, according to a new poll by YouGov.
45% say they oppose the walkouts, while 43% say they support them, the poll suggests.
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