London commuters are bracing for yet more travel chaos on Monday because of a train driver strike on some of the busiest routes in and out of the capital
The Aslef walk-out will cripple commuter routes, with services run by c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Great Northern and Thameslink affected.
It is the third day of strike action since Friday, and coincides with an overtime ban on Monday and Tuesday, which could also significantly alter the timetable of trains that are running.
Passengers are being warned to expect “significant” disruption to rail services, with little or no services across large areas of the network.
In a message to customers, South Western Railway said trains would only run between 7am and 7pm on a select few routes, with the rest of its network closed.
Southeastern urged passengers not to travel, saying there would be “a very limited service running and most of our routes and stations will be closed.”
Thameslink said there would be no trains running, except for a “limited” shuttle service calling at Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras.
Gatwick Express and Southern will also have no service, with the exception of a “limited” shuttle service to Gatwick Airport. Great Northern services will also not run.
However, a planned strike for Monday on the London Underground was called off last week to the relief of many commuters.
A second Tube walkout planned for Saturday May 4 – the day that mayoral votes will be counted – was also scrapped.
Announcing the strike previously, Aslef said it was taking the action because drivers had not had a pay rise in five years.
Mick Whelan warned ahead of Monday’s strikes that passengers should expect even more walkouts in the months to come.
He told the Guardian: “The reality is, we are going to ask for a pay rise, they are going to say: ‘We can’t give you a pay rise if we haven’t been able to settle the previous two years,’ but they are not going to settle for the previous two years, so what are we going to do?
“We don’t want another dispute but at this moment in time, it is very much heading along that line again.”
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, the body representing the train companies in the dispute, said: “We are sorry that this round of strikes called by the Aslef leadership risks disrupting journeys.
“While we are doing all we can to keep trains running and we will work with our industry partners to keep as many trains running as possible, unfortunately there will be reduced services betweenâ¯Thursday April 4 to Tuesday April 9.
“Our advice is to check before you travel and follow the latest travel information.”
