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Passengers brace for ANOTHER day of ‘disruption’ as train drivers strike again this week

It's just Groundhog Day at this point.

Emily Sergeant - 7th May 2024

Passengers are being told to brace for yet more ‘disruption’ as train drivers across the UK are striking again this week.

Following on from the announcement back in February that ASLEF train drivers at several train companies and operators, with Northern being one of them, had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to continue taking industrial action for another six months, members of the union are staging more strikes all throughout this week.

ASLEF train drivers at Northern will walk out this Thursday (9 May).

But, as there are multiple strikes on different days at train operators across the country all this week, this means disruption is also expected in the lead-up to and following the day drivers at Northern actually strike.

Because of this, Northern customers who are connecting onto services with other train operators are being advised to “check before they travel” for all journeys up until this Saturday (11 May).

The company is also warning that its services are likely to be “busier than usual” this week, as it expects people will take alternative travel routes to avoid strikes elsewhere.

“Unfortunately, the action by ASLEF on Thursday 9 May will see our network grind to a halt,” explained Tricia Williams, who is Northern’s Chief Operating Officer.

“On the days when strikes are taking place with other train operators, we will do everything we can to keep our services moving and absorb those extra passengers trying to travel across the region, but we can only apologise, once again, for the disruption this action will cause to people.”

Northern says it’s “disappointed” ASLEF members have chosen to stage more strikes this week, and will continue to do so in the coming months.

But when ASLEF announced its intention to continue taking industrial action for the foreseeable – which is separate to what is a very long-running dispute with the Department for Transport (DfT) over pay and working conditions – back in February, the union’s General Secretary, Mick Whelan, said he was “fed up to the back teeth with the bad faith shown” by train companies.

He added that train operators like Northern need to “stop what they are doing” and “start to behave properly and honourably”, because their drivers are “no longer prepared to be treated like this”.

Read more:

• ASLEF train drivers vote ‘overwhelmingly’ to continue strikes for another six months
• Government sets out next steps for ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ between Liverpool and Manchester
• Classical music will be played at Northern train stations to ‘deter anti-social behaviour’

For more information on the strikes this week, and to see the latest travel updates for the next few days, check the Northern website here.

Featured Image – National Rail