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July train disruption: New Aslef overtime ban to hit services

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Train drivers in the Aslef union have announced a fresh overtime ban, which will see services further disrupted.

Drivers at 15 train companies based in England will refuse to work overtime from Monday 17 to Saturday 22 July.

It will coincide with strike action by rail workers in the RMT union also taking place later this month.

And it follows the overtime ban currently taking place over pay and conditions which is disrupting services across the rail network.

Most train companies rely on drivers working overtime to run their full schedules, which Aslef says is a consequence of operators not employing enough people.

Strikes by other rail workers in the RMT union are set to take place later this month, on 20, 22 and 29 July. Many will reduce their service levels, and passengers are being advised to check before they travel.

Among the disruption expected this week:

  • South Western Railway said it would run a reduced timetable with some first and last trains cancelled. Its services are likely to be busier than usual, and passengers heading to the Wimbledon tennis championships are advised to allow extra time for journeys
  • Gatwick Express is not running this week but the airport will be served by Southern and Thameslink
  • Northern advised passengers to expect some services to start later and finish earlier than usual, as well as short-notice cancellations
  • Great Western Railway expects some short-notice alterations or cancellations, and said its Night Riviera Sleeper service would not run in either direction until Sunday
  • Chiltern Railways warned customers only to travel if absolutely essential on Saturday. Its trains would not stop at the station by Wembley Stadium, which is hosting a concert by Blur

'Westminster problem'

The announcement of the new overtime ban comes after Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan had warned that further industrial action was likely.

He told the BBC's Today programme on Monday the Rail Delivery Group's latest pay offer, worth 4% for two years in a row and linked to reforms, was like a return to "Victorian times".

The long-running pay dispute by train drivers centres around union members accepting a deal which would have brought drivers' average pay to £65,000. This offer has already been rejected by Aslef.

But it would have been dependent on changes to working practices, which the employers and government say are needed to cut costs and modernise how the railway runs.

Mr Whelan said the situation was a "Westminster ideological problem" and claimed the union did not have issues in Scotland, Wales, with freight, the London Underground, Crossrail or Eurostar.

"We did 14 pay deals in the last 12 months. The only place we can't get a pay deal is with the Westminster government," he added.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said Aslef had rejected a "fair and affordable offer" without putting it to its members.

"We ask Aslef to recognise the very real financial challenge the industry is facing and work with us to deliver a better, more reliable railway with a strong long-term future," it added.

Ticket office closures

Meanwhile, the strike action between operators and the RMT over pay, jobs and conditions has lasted for more than a year.

With only 12% of tickets sold from ticket offices according to the RDG, train companies are preparing to move ahead with plans to close hundreds of station kiosks.

Under proposed changes staff would be moved on to concourses to help and advise more customers, an RDG spokesperson said.

But RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said last week his union would not "meekly sit by and allow thousands of jobs to be sacrificed or see disabled and vulnerable passengers left unable to use the railways as a result".

The union suggested it could take further industrial action over the issue.