Rail chaos imminent for passengers ahead of East Midlands strikes

Passengers across the Midlands are being warned of travel disruption across the East Midlands tomorrow because of planned strike action by members of the rail union RMT.

There will be no CrossCountry services between Derby and Nottingham.

Rail replacement buses will be put on between Leicester and Peterborough.

Customers are being advised to make alternative travel arrangements.

It comes as many will be travelling ahead of New Years Eve celebrations, with no new restrictions being announced in England ahead of the new year.

The rail operator has said it will be running a "very limited" timetable.

A "heavily reduced service" will also be in place Birmingham New Street and Peterborough.

The dispute involves train managers and senior conductors in a row over the role of guards.

A spokesman for industry body the Rail Delivery Group said: "Our staff are working in difficult circumstances and, like everyone else, they are susceptible to the virus.

"As they demonstrated last year in the height of the pandemic, our people are dedicated to keeping the country moving so that other key workers can get to where they need to be.

"We may not be able to run every train we had planned and there might be changes to some services.

"We would advise anyone travelling to check online before they set out on their journey or to sign up for automatic alerts from National Rail Alert Me."

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The disruption to services from the New Year's Eve strike action is wholly down to these greedy private companies on our railways seeking to squeeze out every penny they can by hammering down on safety, jobs and workplace dignity.

"Our members at CrossCountry are standing up for all rail workers as we expect a torrent of attacks on jobs, pay, safety, pensions and working conditions in 2022.

"We are ready for a new year of campaigning and action on all fronts."