Summer getaways and weekend plans may very well be severely disrupted as we speak throughout a recent spherical of rail strikes – with an “amber traffic warning” additionally in drive on the roads.
The Aslef union says practice drivers at seven rail corporations are staging a 24-hour walkout in a dispute over pay, and there are fears tens of millions of passengers may very well be disrupted.
Elsewhere, the AA is warning motorists there may very well be extreme congestion on main routes between 11am and 3pm as we speak – with the South of England set to be notably weak.
Numerous elements are accountable – together with the rail strikes, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and the beginning of the Football League season in England.
Drivers are being informed to arrange for stop-start visitors because the weekend will get underway, and the AA’s head of street coverage Jack Cousens says the congestion will likely be a frustration for a lot of.
He added: “As well as taking food and water, some form of entertainment for younger passengers might just hold off a sigh and mutterings of ‘I’m bored!’ for a while.”
Roads into the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone weren’t affected by the visitors yesterday, however National Highways says this weekend is “likely to be extremely busy”.
The UK and France have now put plans in place to forestall border chaos and “maximise passenger flows”, and weekly conferences will intention to keep away from extra disruption on either side of the Channel.
Some 140,000 passengers are anticipated to go by the Port of Dover between Thursday and Sunday this week, in addition to 45,000 automobiles and 18,000 freight automobiles.
‘More uncertainty and disruption’
The Rail Delivery Group has accused the Aslef union of timing its industrial motion to coincide with main sporting occasions.
Today’s strike is affecting Arriva Rail London, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains.
Rail Delivery Group chairman Steve Montgomery mentioned: “We’re really disappointed that the Aslef leadership has decided to impose yet more uncertainty and disruption for passengers and businesses in a week which has already seen a strike by the RMT.”
Passengers on affected routes are urged to plan forward and examine earlier than they journey – and if trains are cancelled, travellers can change their ticket, get a refund, or use their ticket till Tuesday.
Further strikes are deliberate subsequent month within the deadlocked row over pay, jobs and circumstances – with Aslef’s normal secretary Mick Whelan insisting industrial motion is “always the last resort”.
He added: “We don’t want to inconvenience passengers, our friends and families use public transport too, and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike – but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies, who say they have been driven to this by the Tory government.”
Mr Whelan claimed that many Aslef members haven’t had a pay rise in three years – and with inflation “running at north of 10%”, these drivers have seen their pay fall in actual phrases.
“It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row,” he mentioned. “Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers, and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.”
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