Industrial action on railways cost sector £620 million in past year – figures

The Rail Delivery Group said the strikes threatened the industry’s ‘long-term sustainability’.

Industrial action on the railways has cost the industry around £620 million over the past year, new figures suggest, as passengers suffered fresh travel misery because of a strike.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union staged a walkout on Thursday in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Further strikes will be held on Saturday and on July 29, while services were also being disrupted because of a ban on overtime by train drivers in the Aslef union.

A statement said: “This has stalled its post-pandemic recovery and threatens its long-term sustainability, pushing the industry in to a spiral decline and risking consequences like cuts to services to make up the shortfall. Revenue levels are still 30% below pre-pandemic levels.

“The strikes have hit the wider economy – particularly sectors still recovering from the impact of the pandemic which employ hundreds of thousands of people.

“Analysis by Hospitality UK shows that with the upcoming rail strikes set to cost hospitality £132 million in sales, the cumulative impact of the rail strikes is £3.25 billion.

Passengers walk past a display board at Waterloo train station in London — Thursday’s strike at 14 train companies saw wide variations of services across the country (James Manning/PA)

Thursday’s strike at 14 train companies saw wide variations of services across the country, with trains starting later and finishing much earlier than usual.

In some areas, around half of train services ran while others had no services at all.

Evening services on some lines were likely to be affected on the days before each strike and on the mornings following the action.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said striking rail workers were waiting for an invitation back to the negotiating table (James Manning/PA)

“This will lead to disappointment, frustration, and financial strain for tens of thousands of people. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and understand the impact on individuals and businesses.

“While we are doing all we can to keep trains running, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Monday July 17 and Saturday July 29, so our advice is to check before you travel.”

Picket lines were mounted outside railway stations across England and workers said they were receiving strong support for their action from the public.

PA infographic showing UK strikes in July — (PA Graphics)

“We’ve been on strike for over a year, this campaign’s probably been running for two years,” Mr Lynch said from a picket line at Euston station in London.

“The issues are the same. They’re attacking our jobs. They’re making redundancies. They’re closing services.

“We haven’t had a pay rise for four years and the people that remain, they want to cut our conditions and issue new contracts of employment.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The Government has met the rail unions, listened to them and facilitated improved offers on pay and reform. The union leaders should put these fair and reasonable offers to their members so this dispute can be resolved.”

– Passengers were also warned to expect disruption to London Underground services next week because of industrial action by the RMT and Aslef in a separate dispute over jobs, pensions and conditions.