BRITAIN is gripped by travel chaos this morning with 80 per cent of trains cancelled and roads gridlocked as the biggest rail strike in 30 years begins.
Commuters face a nightmare journey to work as a £1billion “lockdown” imposed by militant rail unions force workers into cars and onto buses – with main roads already jammed.
Heavy traffic on the A40 in Perivale, West London[/caption]
Trains in sidings near Peterborough railway station[/caption]
Brits have been warned do NOT travel as just one in five trains are running and entire regions – such as Cornwall and Dorset – have been completely cut off.
Residents living in swathes of the South West, Scotland and Wales are stranded today. Those in Chester, Hull, Lincoln and Worcester will also be marooned.
Major stations around the country are closed until 7.30am and half of all lines aren’t running at all. The services that are running will end at 6.30pm.
As a result, tens of thousands of people unable to work from home have been forced to take their cars to work.
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Motorists have been warned to expect gridlock on some roads.
The AA predicted that the worst affected roads are likely to be main motorway arteries, as well as rural and suburban areas.
Highways England operations manager Louise Boothman told Good Morning Britain the worst delays are hitting early.
“It is slightly busier than normal days,” she said.
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“We’ll continue to monitor it as the morning goes on.”
Another peak in traffic is expected at around 3.30pm, which could last into the early evening, she said.
It comes as:
- The Transport for London and National Rail websites crash
- Richard Madeley has blasted Mick Lynch on Good Morning Britain – after the union boss was accused of being a “Marxist”
- But Lynch hit back – accusing Madeley of spouting “absolute twaddle”
- Millions of people will be affected today as fewer than one in five services run
- Grant Shapps confirmed Cobra meetings will take place in a bid to end the chaos
- Brits are warned not to attempt travelling by rail if they can avoid it
It comes as thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators walk out today, Thursday and Saturday.
They took action after last-ditch talks failed to resolve the bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, with all sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.
London Underground workers will also walk out on Tuesday, with strikes on all lines. The Transport for London website has collapsed as thousands of people look for advice.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed this morning that Cobra meetings will take place in the coming days to resolve the crisis – but warned Britain is back in the “bad old days” of union strikes.
And a “summer of discontent” may only just be beginning – after militant rail unions last night threatened to stage more crippling strikes for months to come.
Furious ministers have accused union barons of inflicting “misery and chaos” on millions with their “callous” three-day action amid claims cities and towns will go into “lockdown”.
Patients will be unable to get to hospital, teens will miss their GCSEs and Glastonbury will be wrecked for many.
Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “The rail and Tube strikes will impose another lockdown on the West End at a time when central London’s economy needs all the support it can get.”
Despite Brits’ pleas, the RMT defiantly admitted it’s causing the carnage to protect ancient rules which mean train staff only have to work 35 hours a week — the equivalent of seven hours a day.
Our campaign will run as long as it needs to run until we get a settlement acceptable to our people
Mick Lynch
Boss Mick Lynch said: “The strike will go ahead – we call on our members to stand firm, support the action and mount the pickets.
“We are not special. The whole country is suffering. We have a trade union prepared to fight.”
He also said there are no signs of the strikes stopping any soon.
He added: “Our campaign will run as long as it needs to run until we get a settlement acceptable to our people.
“It will go on until somebody offers us a deal we can put to our members and we can vote for it in a referendum.”
Downing Street said it was “deeply disappointing” that the strikes are going ahead, arguing that they will not resolve the issues faced on the railways.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is deeply disappointing, that these disruptive, these self-defeating strikes will take place this week.
“Striking does nothing to address the long-standing issues that we need to sort to make sure our railway, that the public use and treasure, is fit for the long term.”
BORIS BLAST
Boris Johnson will tell his Cabinet today they have to face down hardline unions or risk wrecking the economy.
He will say: “The unions are harming the very people they claim to be helping.
“By going ahead with these rail strikes, they are driving away commuters who ultimately support the jobs of rail workers, while also impacting businesses and communities across the country.
“Too-high demands on pay will also make it incredibly difficult to bring to an end the current challenges facing families around the world with rising costs of living.”
Meanwhile, Mr Shapps has denied he’s “the problem”.
He told Sky News: “The actual unions need to sit down with the employers because this is a highly technical discussion around 20 different areas of modernisation that are required on the railway.
“We’ve given £16 billion of taxpayers’ money through coronavirus to make sure that none of those railway employees lost their jobs.
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“So they need to work on this together between the union and the employers.”
But he’s facing criticism after trouble on planes too, with hundreds of services cancelled and hols in disarray.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch on a picket line outside Euston station this morning[/caption]
Traffic queues on the A102M Blackwall Tunnel approach in Greenwich, South East London[/caption]
Traffic builds on the M1 south in Hertfordshire[/caption]
Major railway stations, including London Victoria, are closed this morning[/caption]
The misery has gripped London, where Tube strikes are also taking place[/caption]
Manchester Piccadilly Station is shut this morning[/caption]
A bus replacement at Bristol Temple Meads train station[/caption]
