Rail services between Scotland and England set for bank holiday disruption amid Aslef driver strikes

Train services between Scotland and England are to be disrupted over the May bank holiday weekend as drivers walk out in a long-running dispute over pay

Aslef train drivers at 16 operating companies including Avanti West Coast, LNER CrossCountry, Northern and Transpennine Express will walk out in another series of one-day strikes on May 7, 8 and 9, coupled with a six-day overtime ban from May 6.

The union said it had not met employers or the government for more than a year, accusing ministers of “giving up” trying to resolve the near two-year dispute.

Drivers will strike on May 7 at c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

On May 8, there will be strikes at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Aslef members at LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express will strike on May 9.

Aslef said train drivers have not had an increase in salary for five years, since their last pay deals expired in 2019.

The union said that after its members voted overwhelmingly in February to continue taking industrial action, it asked the train operating companies to hold talks.

General secretary Mick Whelan said; “It is now a year since we sat in a room with the train companies and a year since we rejected the risible offer they made and which they admitted, privately, was designed to be rejected.

“We first balloted for industrial action in June 2022, after three years without a pay rise. It took eight one-day strikes to persuade the train operating companies (Tocs) to come to the table and talk.

“Our negotiating team met the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on eight occasions – the last being on Wednesday April 26 last year.

“That was followed by the Tocs’ ‘land grab’ for all our terms & conditions on Thursday April 27 – which was immediately rejected.

“Since then train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise.

“That’s why Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members. Drivers would not vote to strike if they thought an offer was acceptable.”

Mr Whelan said the year-old offer of a 4% pay rise followed by a second 4% increase was “dead in the water”.