Iran Press/ Europe: Rail firms have repeated pleas for people to avoid traveling unless necessary, with only about 20% of trains expected to operate in a limited window. Despite the strikes, frequent services could still operate on Saturday morning.
However, Sunday services will start later and be slightly reduced. Passengers with advance tickets will be allowed to use them until Tuesday or get a full
While many commuters have opted to work from home during the week, leaving many of the few trains running only partially occupied, train firms anticipate busier services at the weekend.
Some have explicitly urged passengers to avoid their services, with TransPennine telling anyone going to events such as the Test cricket match in Leeds to use alternative transport.
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However, Great Western Railway expects to run 11 direct specials to return festivalgoers from Glastonbury to London on Sunday.
On Saturday, 40,000 members of the RMT union went on strike in a dispute over pay and conditions on the railways. Rail revenues remain about £2bn short of pre-pandemic levels, and the government has told Network Rail and train operating companies to find savings through “modernisation” to fund pay deals.
The union has been offered a package worth 3%, but this week, inflation reached 9.1% – or 11.7% on the measure usually used to determine rail salaries.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, told Sky News on Saturday morning that “there’s a long way to go yet” in the talks, which are due to continue in London.
He said: “They’ve given us a lot of detail about what they want from what they might call the new modern railway; what we don’t know is how our members will respond to that.
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