As part of what is a very long-running dispute with the Department for Transport (DfT) over pay and working conditions, train drivers who are members of the ASLEF union have agreed to stage another series of strikes towards the end of this month and the start of the next.
It has been announced that strike action will take place on the nation’s rail networks between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February 2024.
ASLEF members will walk out from 16 train operators over a number of dates throughout that week.
ADVERTISEMENT
Find out why train drivers are taking strike action and read about the background to the dispute: https://t.co/hyu769ssko
First up, on Tuesday 30 January, members will strike at Southeastern, GTR Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, SWR Island Line, and South Western Railway, with Northern Trains and Transpennine Trains to follow on Wednesday 31 January – the latter of which is set to affect much of the North West region.
Then, on Friday 2 February, strikes will be staged on Greater Anglia, C2C, and LNER services, before on West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and East Midlands Railway follow on Saturday 3 February, and Great Western, CrossCountry, and Chiltern close out the week of industrial action on Monday 5 February.
ADVERTISEMENT
On top of these actual strike dates, an ‘overtime ban’ is also in place for the week, meaning further disruption to usual services is expected as drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Monday 29 January until Tuesday 6 February.
Members of the ASLEF union will stage a series of strikes at the end of this month / Credit: National Rail
ASLEF strike dates January & February 2024
Tuesday 30 January – Southeastern, GTR Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, SWR Island Line, South Western Railway Depot Drivers, and South Western Railway mainline drivers
Wednesday 31 January – Northern Trains, and Transpennine Trains
Friday 2 February – Greater Anglia, C2C, and LNER
Saturday 3 February – West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and East Midlands Railway
Monday 5 February – Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, and Chiltern
“We have given the Government every opportunity to come to the table,” commented Mick Whelan, who is the General Secretary of ASLEF, as the fresh round of train driver strikes were announced yesterday.
“But it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport, and it’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared, and with it the cost of living. Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as keyworkers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.
Industrial action is part of a long-running dispute with the Government over pay and working conditions / Credit: Northern
“The Government has now tried their old trick of changing the rules when they can’t win and brought in Minimum Service Levels legislation, but this new law, as we told officials during the consultation period, won’t ease industrial strife – it will likely just make it worse.”
Mr Whelan claimed there’s “no excuse” for the Government’s actions.
“The Government and train operating companies must come to the table with a realistic offer so we can end this dispute and work together to ensure the future of our railways,” he concluded.
Featured Image – National Rail
News
Manchester’s historic Portico Library secures £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s Portico Library has secured a whopping £6.4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In case you missed it, ambitious plans to transform the historic Grade II-listed building on Mosely Street were already unveiled last October… but now, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced it is committing £6.4 million of funding towards the project, hoping that the building thrives as the UK’s most sustainable historic library for generations to come.
The grant is being described as a ‘major milestone’ in the approximately £12 million Portico Reunited project.
The Portico Reunited project will look to ‘reunite’ the historic building’s three floors for the first time in over a century, creating a fully-accessible and sustainable cultural library.
Founded all the way back in 1806, The Portico Library played a central role in Manchester’s rise as the world’s first modern city, and since then has been serving as a window into the past and a providing a place of inspiration for anyone who needs it.
The Portico Library has secured a £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation / Credit: Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Crucially, plans will see a step-free entrance and lift installed to make the library accessible to all.
There’ll also be new exhibition and event spaces introduced as part of the scheme to explore the stories of Manchester’s communities and the city’s heritage. There will a Northern Bookshop, showcasing regional and emerging writers, and independent publishers, as well as a creative Portico Kitchen, which will celebrate the city’s food culture, writing, and history.
A place for school groups, families, and all people to explore Portico’s collection and experiment creatively also forms part of the plans.
Dr Thom Keep, Librarian and CEO of The Portico Library, called the funding grant a ‘landmark moment’ in the Portico’s ‘rich and complex history’, and a ‘huge achievement’ for its staff, trustees, volunteers, and partners.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we can reunite this extraordinary building and make room for people to discover, learn and create together,” he added.
“We have listened to thousands of people about what the Portico could become, and their ideas and experiences have helped shape these plans.
“Our ambition is a library that belongs to the whole city – a place to discover remarkable collections, question the stories we have inherited, and create new possibilities together.”
Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the project, and the building is expected to close for construction in late spring 2028 and reopen once again in early March 2030.
Following reopening, the transformed library is expected to welcome around 95,000 visitors each year.
Featured Image – Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
News
New data estimates that 7.3m Oasis fans are set to miss out on 2027 tour tickets
Emily Sergeant
New data has revealed that as many as 7.3 million Oasis fans could be set to miss out on tickets to the band’s 2027 tour.
In case you need bringing up to speed a little, it was announced earlier this week that, following the unprecedented success of the reunion tour, Oasis Live ’25, last year, including five nostalgia-drenched gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park, Oasis would be hitting the road once again in 2027, and this time around, they’re going BIG.
We’re talking 11 nights at the Etihad Stadium and a return to the iconic grounds of Knebworth for four special shows there too, kind of ‘big’.
The iconic Manchester band will also be taking to a range of other world-famous stages across the globe, including five nights at Glasgow’s Celtic Park, and major cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, and Las Vegas.
But despite the elevated number of dates the Gallaghers and co will be performing, some new data has unfortunately revealed that millions of fans may still not be lucky enough to snag a ticket.
The ticketing system for Oasis Live ’27 is not what it was for the last tour, nor will it be similar to many other tours of a similar scale in the past either, as this time, the band and their promotors are taking necessary measures to ensure ‘genuine fans’ get their hands on the tickets and that dynamic pricing doesn’t creep in.
Instead of going into detail on that now though, you can read our full guide on how to get tickets for the Manchester and Knebworth shows here.
Experts at online ticketing platform TicketSource have analysed the scale of demand for Oasis tickets by comparing the 10 million fans worldwide who queued for the initial release of 1.4 million tickets for their 2025 tour, with the newly announced 2027 tour dates and stadium capacities.
With an estimated 2.67 million tickets available across 38 dates and 11 locations between 21 May and 19 September 2027, Oasis could still face huge demand from fans hoping to see them live.
But research reveals the band would need to play 112 Wembley-sized shows to accommodate everyone who tried to get a ticket in 2025.
The 2027 tour would accommodate just 26.7% of those who tried to get tickets last time, meaning almost three-quarters (73%) of them could miss out, leaving a shortfall of more than 7.3 million fans.
Fingers crossed you’re among the lucky lot that secure tickets, though.
Featured Image – Joshua Halling (Press Image – Supplied)
Emily Sergeant -
16th January 2024 
