More rail strikes chaos with severe disruption to Heathrow Express and NO CrossCountry services as Aslef train drivers stage another walkout<\/h1>\n

Trains to the country’s busiest airport will be among services disrupted on Thursday because of ongoing strikes by drivers in a long-running pay dispute.<\/p>\n

Members of Aslef have launched a rolling programme of walkouts and a ban on overtime, which has caused travel chaos since the weekend.<\/p>\n

Busy commuter routes into London from southern England were affected by walkouts on Wednesday following strikes at the weekend and on Tuesday in other parts of the country.<\/p>\n

Train drivers on CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express will strike on Thursday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A South Western Railway train in a siding near Basingstoke Railway station in Hampshire<\/p>\n

CrossCountry, which has the most extensive rail network in the UK – stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted to Cardiff – will run no trains.<\/p>\n

Great Western Railway services will operate only between 7am and 7pm, with limited routes open.<\/p>\n

The frequency of the Heathrow Express will be halved from four trains an hour to two and it will not run before 7am or after 7.15pm.<\/p>\n

Aslef members at Northern Rail and TransPennine Express will strike on Friday, causing the cancellation of all services.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Commuters and passengers at Waterloo Railway Station in London<\/p>\n

A week-long ban on overtime by Aslef members at all the train operators involved in the dispute will end this weekend.<\/p>\n

Aslef has been in dispute for more than 18 months in protest at a pay offer worth 8% over two years.<\/p>\n

Train operators and the Government have urged the union to put the offer to a ballot of its members.<\/p>\n

Aslef says regular re-ballots of its members which have returned overwhelming votes for continuing with strikes show strong support for the campaign for an improved pay offer.<\/p>\n

No talks have been held for months, and the union has criticised the government’s role in the dispute, saying no meetings have been held with the Transport Secretary for a year.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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