Passengers are being warned of major disruption to East Midlands Railway services this weekend due to a fresh wave of strikes over pay.
EMR are unable to run any services this Saturday, February 3 due to industrial action by the ASLEF union over pay.
The strikes are part of a programme of industrial action affecting 18 train companies between Monday, 29 January and Tuesday, 6 February.
It comes amid an ongoing dispute over pay, which has been rumbling on for almost two years. ASLEF said some drivers were approaching five years without a pay rise and warned that strikes would continue until there were negotiations towards a deal.
East Midlands Railways (EMR) has accused the union of staggering the strikes with the aim of creating “wide-ranging disruption and cancellations across the network”.
In addition to not running any trains on Saturday, the company said services are expected to be busy throughout the action and is advising customers to check their planned journeys online before trying to travel. ASLEF members are also engaged in an overtime ban for the duration of the strike which could result in “short notice cancellations”, EMR added.
EMR Connect services, which run every 30 minutes between Corby and London St Pancras, will also not be running on Sunday, February 4. EMR has warned the train network is facing a “complicated period of possible delays and disruption”.
Will Rogers, Managing Director of East Midlands Railway, said: “This approach from the ASLEF union means different parts of the network and different train operating companies are affected at different times. Unfortunately, this will mean customers could be impacted by a complicated period of possible delays and disruption.
“We cannot run any services on Saturday, February 3 – while our services will also be busy on either side of this day. Customers are advised to check our website to understand how their whole journey is affected before setting off and can expect possible disruption or late notice cancellations.”
Visit https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/ for updates.
