Passengers set for Christmas disruption after train managers vote to strike

The Government is worried that staffing shortages on trains could cause rail disruption over Christmas.

Lord Hendy, the rail minister, said he was concerned with “several train operators” and that closures on parts of the railway over the festive period could put more pressure on other areas.

He told the Commons transport select committee: “Generally as a system, we’re over-reliant on overtime working for train crew.

“That’s a risk, which may be worse at Christmas time than other times.”

Train passengers face significant disruption over Christmas after Avanti West Coast train managers voted to strike.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on Dec 22, 23 and 29.

Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said: “Avanti West Coast’s proposals have been decisively rejected by our train managers, sending a clear message to management that the current arrangements are unacceptable.

“Train managers are being treated unfairly compared to senior managers, who receive significant payments for covering these roles.

“Our members have had enough, and this strike action demonstrates their determination to win a fair deal.

“It’s time for Avanti to put forward serious proposals that reflect the vital contribution of our train managers to the railway.”

It is understood Avanti services will be extremely limited on the days of the strikes and a revised timetable will be issued from Dec 14.

Customers who have tickets for Dec 22 and 23 will be able to use them on alternative services between Dec 16 and 24, while those with tickets for Dec 29 will be able to use them on alternative services between Dec 28 and Jan 3.

The Avanti strike centres on a dispute over rest day working.

Many train drivers and other crew members do not have Sunday working included in their contracts, with numerous operators often relying on them volunteering to work extra paid shifts to run timetabled services on that day.

An Avanti West Coast spokesman said: “At one of our busiest and most important times of the year when our customers should be making journeys to visit family or friends during the holiday period, they will now face significant disruption because of these strikes.

“We are disappointed RMT have voted to decline the very reasonable offer made to them to resolve the rest day working dispute and prevent inconvenience to those many people who will be travelling on the West Coast Main Line over this time. We will continue to work with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”