The rail services affected by train drivers’ overtime ban this week
Train passengers could face disruption to their journeys this week after one union put a ban on drivers doing overtime.
Passengers should check their travel routes before heading out, as services from 15 train companies could be disrupted over the next six days.
The overtime ban, introduced by the Aslef union, will impact a number of train companies around the country from Monday July 3 to Saturday July 8.
Most train companies need drivers to work overtime in order to run the services they promise.
Lots of companies will reduce their services to deal with this, so the train timetables may be different from usual.
Train companies have already issued specific warnings about events that may be impacted, including the Wimbledon tennis championships and Blur’s concert in Wembley on Saturday.
The action is the latest in the long-running pay dispute train drivers are facing.
Aslef said the latest pay off is like a ‘return to Victorian times’.
Train strikes from the RMT union will take place later this month, on July 20, 22 and 29.
Train companies impacted this week
Below are the train companies affected by the overtime ban this week and how they are altering their services:
- South Western Railway (SWR) – It will run a reduced timetable and some first and last trains will be cancelled. Services will therefore probably be busier than usual. It has urged anyone travelling to Wimbledon for the tennis to allow more time for their journeys.
- Great Western Railway (GWR) – There could be cancellations or alterations to services at the last minute. Its Night Riviera Sleeper service won’t run at all until Sunday this week.
- Chiltern Railways – It has asked customers to only travel on its services on Saturday if their journey is absolutely necessary. It says it won’t be stopping at Wembley on Saturday, where Blur is playing in concert.
- Northern – It said services might start later and end earlier than usual, as well as the possibility of short-notice cancellations.
- CrossCountry
- Greater Anglia
- Southern/Gatwick Express
- TransPennine Express
- Govia Thameslink
- Avanti West Coast
- East Midlands Railway
- London North Eastern Railway
- Northern Trains
- Southeasern
- SWR Island Line
- West Midlands Trains
Other train providers are intending to run a normal timetable but passengers should still check before travelling, and expect the services that are running to be busier than usual.
Why is there an overtime ban?
The Aslef union says members who haven’t had a pay rise for four years shouldn’t have to sacrifice their working conditions just to get an increase that doesn’t match inflation.
Aslef has already rejected the offer of a deal worth 4% for two years in a row. It would bring a train driver’s average pay to £65,000 a year.
The deal was contingent on changes to train drivers’ working practices. Employers and the government have said these changes are desperately needed in order to cut costs and modernise the railways.
Aslef members at 10 train operators said last month they supported further strike action – so it could last for another six month is no deal is made.
Mr Wheelan, Aslef’s general secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘They wanted to go back to Victorian times, in relation to how we roster, how we recruit, how we do things.
‘The word ‘reform’ is “want productivity for nothing”.’
He claimed it is a ‘Westminster ideological problem’ because the union isn’t having issues with the London Underground, Crossrail or Eurostar, with freight or with services in Scotland and Wales.
He continued: ‘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.’
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