MORE train strikes are set to spark travel chaos for thousands across the Bank holiday.
Staff at a major rail network are staging two walkouts in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), who work at Northern Rail gate lines, are holding the industrial action on Friday and again on Saturday June 8.
The union said its members, who are employed by a private contractor, are paid less than directly employed staff and do not receive other benefits.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We cannot allow this injustice to continue which is why our members are taking more strike action this Friday and next month.
“Our members are the first to interact with the travelling public and if there is any abuse, anti-social behaviour or assaults, they are on the receiving end.
“Yet they are treated as second class workers, doing shifts alongside directly employed Northern Rail station staff.
“All these workers want is to be treated equally and get the same pay and conditions as their colleagues in Northern Rail.
“RMT will continue our industrial campaign for as long as it takes to get justice for our members.”
MAJOR ENGINEERING WORKS
Disruption is also expected this weekend as Network Rail announced they will be carrying out engineering works.
Services on the West Coast Main Line will be reduced to work around Crewe and Carlisle.
There will be significant changes to services on the Great Eastern Main Line because of work on a new station at Beaulieu Park to the east of Chelmsford.
Trains will also be affected by track renewals between Carstairs and Lanark in Scotland.
Train disruption today
CANCELLATIONS and delays are expected for the rest of the day due to poor weather.
Avanti West Coast told passengers: “Please do not attempt to travel with us between Preston and Scotland.
“We’re really sorry if this affects your journey today.”
The company told ticketholders they can travel with other operators such as LNER on the East Coast Main Line, postpone their journey or request a refund.
TransPennine Express commercial director Darren Higgins said: “Due to flooding on the railway line north of Carlisle, train services are significantly disrupted.
“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our priority and we are urging customers not to travel between Manchester, Liverpool (or) Preston to Carlisle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“Anyone planning on travelling by train today can choose to defer their travel or claim a refund.”
ScotRail services between Carlisle and Glasgow Central are expected to start/terminate at Dumfries
Network Rail confirmed it often carries out major engineering work over bank holiday periods to reduce the number of passengers impacted.
It comes after Brits faced travel chaos across the bank holiday earlier this month due to rail strikes.
Members of the train drivers’ union Aslef at 16 operators launched a six-day ban on overtime on the Monday.
The travel misery involved three, one-day strikes across different operators between May 7 and 9, as part of a long running dispute over pay.
CAR JOURNEYS THIS BANK HOLIDAY
Meanwhile, those making journeys this weekend by car have been warned of the best and worst times to travel.
According to RAC experts, more than 20 million will be hitting the road between Friday and Monday.
Predictably, the worst day to travel is likely to be Friday as the start of the long weekend coincides with the beginning of half-term for many schools.
According to transport analytics company Inrix, this could see journeys on the M25 clockwise between Junction 7 for the M23 and Junction 21 for the M1 to be delayed by more than 90 minutes in the late afternoon on Friday.
There could also be delays of up to an hour on the 45-mile southbound stretch of the M5 from Junction 16 north of Bristol to Junction 25 for Taunton, Somerset.