Rail strikes continue to cause severe disruption across South West services

Today is the second day of strike action by the RMT and TSSA Union as they walk out in a running dispute over pay and job cuts. Credit: PA

The latest strike action from rail workers has caused severe disruption across train services in the South West.

No trains will operate in or out of Bristol Temple Meads all day today (20 August) and all lines in Cornwall, including branch lines are not running.

Plymouth railway station is also closed and there are no Great Western Railway (GWR) services west of Newton Abbot.

Travel misery on rails as strike action continues
All you need to know about the train strikes

All branch lines in Devon - Barnstaple, Exmouth, Paignton and Okehampton - are also not running.

Today is the second day of strike action by the RMT and TSSA Union as they walk out in a running dispute over pay and job cuts.

The RMT said rail staff who worked through the pandemic were facing pay freezes and hundreds of job cuts - leading to union members voting overwhelmingly for action last month.

The union is seeking guarantees of no compulsory redundancies, a pay rise in line with the cost of living, and promises of no unilateral alterations to job terms and conditions.

  • Watch Great Western Railway's Paul Gentleman on the latest strike action

"A devastating blow"

Paul Gentleman from GWR has described the latest strike action as a "devastating blow".

He said that negotiations with network rail and the union are underway at a national level.

"The discussions are ongoing", he said. "The good thing is that everyone is actually sitting at the negotiation table and talking. We need to make sure that talking carries on."

"Hopefully a deal can be reached that is acceptable to everyone and that is fair for our colleagues and fair for the tax payer as well."

"I certainly hope this isn't the new normal. This isn't acceptable to be the new normal. What we want to do is make sure we're growing the rail industry, not having it as an unreliable, outdated piece of public transport.

"We want a train service that is modern, reliable and will serve the travelling public in the way they want to be served."

Train services tomorrow (21 August) will also be affected by the knock-on effect of Saturday’s action.

GWR bosses say trains will begin running late and there will be 'short notice cancellations' , as the network tries to prepare the service to resume as normal on Monday.