London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 07, 2025

Train strikes disrupting weekend before Christmas

Train strikes disrupting weekend before Christmas

Train passengers are facing further disruption on the last weekend before Christmas as rail workers continue strike action on Saturday.

Most services are affected as RMT union members stage the second day of their latest 48-hour walk out.

Network Rail has advised people not to travel on trains unless it is absolutely necessary.

The strikes come as shops and hospitality businesses look to boost trade in the key Christmas period.

Thousands of rail workers have already staged strikes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week as part of a long-running row over jobs, pay and conditions.

Saturday is the fourth day of strikes this week and the 12th since the RMT union voted for industrial action in the summer. Disruption is also likely on Sunday, a non-strike day, due to morning services starting later.

Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, the UK's largest rail union, said on Friday that both sides involved in the dispute needed to "work quickly" to end the strikes.

He said there had been "an exchange of views", but it was important that employers, ministers and unions were getting together.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, said it was hopeful a resolution could be found between the parties, saying talks had been a "painstaking process", but "constructive".

The RMT is involved in two negotiating battles, one with Network Rail, where it represents around 20,000 signallers and maintenance workers, and the other with the Rail Delivery Group, where it represents a similar amount of workers at 14 train companies.

Rail workers have called for pay rises to match the rising cost of living and for better working conditions.

But rail bosses have said companies need to save money after the pandemic hit the industry hard and have argued reforms need to be agreed to afford pay increases and modernise the railway.


'Strikes rock-solid'


Mr Lynch praised members for showing "enormous dignity and rock-solid fortitude" after the strikes earlier this week.

"They have shown how important their work is to the functioning of the economy and wider society," he said.

Warnings of further snow and ice may bring more travel disruption, forecasters have warned.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice in the majority of Scotland, Wales, and much of England for Sunday.

Severe weather in recent days has already led to difficult travel conditions with snow and ice affecting main roads and causing airport runway closures, leading to flight delays and cancellations.

The strikes by railway workers are among a wave of industrial action being carried out by various sectors.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps told Radio 4's Today that while he supported the right to strike "people should also have the right to go about their lives".

He said: "Some of the people most affected by strikes, particularly on the railways, are not people who can sit at home behind their computer but the hospital porter, the cleaner, who have to physically go to work."

He warned against a "1970s cycle" of strikes and inflation, adding industrial action is happening "because of Putin, because he invaded a country which pushed up energy prices, which pushed up inflation which has pushed up wage expectations to a point which, unfortunately if we were to pay it all we couldn't afford it. Putin has made us all a bit poorer I'm afraid".

Phil, a market trader in London, said this week was the "most important" one of the whole year.

"This is when we take our real proper money."

On Friday on Portobello Road "we probably had half the footfall that we'd normally have", he told the BBC.

Retail data company Springboard, which analyses footfall in shops, suggested the rail strikes on Monday and Tuesday had affected the number of people shopping on High Streets and other retail destinations.

From Monday to Wednesday, Springboard said footfall was 5.2% lower on all UK High Streets compared with the same days in 2021.

The company said footfall over those three days this week was 15.1% lower on High Streets than the same days last week.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at the company, said under normal circumstances footfall would have risen this week "as this is last full trading week before Christmas Day and so would be the peak shopping week, with footfall higher than last week".

She added that "clearly footfall is affected by a number of reasons", but highlighted a drop in footfall on the days of the strikes, particularly in central London.

Other impacts on footfall might include the colder weather, the rising cost of living or more people shopping online.

But Ms Wehrle said during the same week in the two years prior to the pandemic, footfall rose from the week before, by 10.2% in 2018 and by 7.2% in 2019.

The next RMT industrial action is scheduled from 18:00 GMT on Christmas Eve until 06:00 on 27 December, while members of the smaller TSSA union will walk out at three train companies between 26 and 29 December.

More RMT strikes are planned for early January.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×