Rail strikes: More travel disruption in new year as train drivers announce January walkouts

The train drivers' union Aslef announced the fresh round of walkouts. Credit: PA

Brits are bracing for more travel disruption in the new year as train drivers announced a fresh strike in January.

Members of the drivers' union Aslef at 15 train companies will walk out on Thursday, 5 January.

They overwhelmingly voted for more industrial action in a long-running, bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 14 train operators are also planning to strike on January 3, 4, 6 and 7.

The separate strikes will snowball to cripple services for a week.

The latest announcements come amid a so-called 'winter of discontent,' which has seen public service workers including nurses, paramedics and Royal Mail staff go on strike, with almost one walkout every day in the run-up to Christmas.

Strikes calendar: A timeline of this winter's walkouts

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: "We don’t want to go on strike but the companies have pushed us into this place.

"They have not offered our members at these companies a penny, and these are people who have not had an increase since April 2019.

"That means they expect train drivers at these companies to take a real-terms pay cut, to work just as hard for considerably less.

"The train companies say their hands have been tied by the government, while the government, which does not employ us, says it’s up to the companies to negotiate with us.

"We are always happy to negotiate – we never refuse to sit down at the table and talk – but these companies have offered us nothing, and that is unacceptable."

Aslef had to ballot members again because a mandate, under the law, is only valid for six months, and said its members once again voted overwhelmingly to take strike action.

"The resolve of our members is rock steady. A 93% ‘yes’ vote – up on the very high figure last time – on an average turnout of 85% shows that our members are in this for the long haul. It shows just how angry and determined we are," Mr Whelan added.

"We now have a new mandate for industrial action for the next six months. The way to stop this is for the companies to make a serious and sensible offer and for the government not to put a spoke in the wheels.

Huge piles of undelivered post stack up outside mail centre amid strikes

"We don’t want to inconvenience passengers. Our friends and families use the railway, too, and we believe in investing in rail for the future of our country – and drivers don’t want to lose a day’s pay.

"That’s why strikes are always a last resort, but the intransigent attitude of the train companies, with the government acting, with malice, in the shadows, has forced our hand."

“The companies need to come to the table with a proper proposal to help our members, their drivers, buy this year what they could buy last year," he continued.

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Which train companies will be affected by the Aslef strike?

The companies affected by the Aslef strike are:

  • Avanti West Coast

  • Chiltern Railways

  • CrossCountry

  • East Midlands Railway

  • Great Western Railway

  • Greater Anglia

  • GTR Great Northern

  • Thameslink

  • London North Eastern Railway

  • Northern Trains

  • Southeastern

  • Southern/Gatwick Express

  • South Western Railway (depot drivers only)

  • SWR Island Line

  • TransPennine Express

  • West Midlands Trains