Britons face more travel misery as thousands of railways workers vote to stage three days of strikes in June

The sale of prepaid rail tickets has been halted for the greatest scheduled strikes in 33 years, and those already booked on trains have been advised to rethink their plans as millions of people face delays and inconvenience at the end of June.

50,000 members of the hard-left Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at 13 train operators and Network Rail will strike on June 21, 23, and 25, with more to follow if a dispute over pay and job losses is not resolved, according to the RMT.

On the first day of the strike, 1,000 Unite members will go on strike.

Over five days at the end of this month on the railroads and buses, industrial action will disrupt work, school during GSCE and A-level exams, and events such as Glastonbury.

Because of the logistical issues that will arise, the strike will last for an entire week.

Advance ticket sales have been halted for the strike days until emergency timetables have been finalized, implying that the UK’s railway network, which has already received £16 billion in government cash to keep it running throughout the pandemic, is running out of money.

South Western Railway, which serves some of Britain’s biggest stations, including Waterloo and Clapham Junction, today detailed the strike’s impact on the 1.6 million passengers who use its trains every day.

‘It is probable that major parts of the SWR network will be inaccessible for travel on and between those days,’ the company said in a tweet. Where lines are open, far fewer trains will run than usual, resulting in crowded services. If possible, customers are recommended to adjust their travel plans.

Rail freight could be affected as well, resulting in bare shelves and a gasoline shortage. Ministers have been told that multi-day strikes could result in power outages in some areas because trains are unable to feed power stations.

Despite being committed to adopting minimum service standards on the railways, Downing Street has hinted that legislation would not be introduced before this month’s planned strikes.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We are keeping all options on the table. Minimum services standards are something the Government is committed to.

‘I am not aware of any plans for legislating on that in the next few weeks. Given the scale of these strikes that are imposed, simply introducing one single piece of legislation would not necessarily mitigate against all the damage.’

The spokesman added: ‘First and foremost, it would not be right for the unions to skip the first step in this process – which is to negotiate – and go straight to strike action.’

But critics have urged them to ‘get a grip’. Tory chair of the Commons Transport Commitee, Huw Merriman, called for a minimum service during strikes, like in the EU, where around a third of trains must run during industrial action. He said: ‘The unions have fought very hard. And will not back down. But the Government committed to bringing a minimum service obligation – then it may need that legislation in place to strengthen its hand. We regard the rail as an essential service’.

Travel guru Paul Charles said: ‘It’s looking like a summer meltdown with problems on roads, railways and at airports. Someone has got to get a grip on protecting what used to be the Great British Getaway. At this rate, the whole of the summer is going to be causing real hardship because it will be too unpredictable to travel. So that’s why we need tough decisions, not dithering.’

The militant union chief plotting the worst rail and Tube strikes for 33 years was today accused of giving a faux apology. Mick Lynch, who enjoys more than £124,000-a-year in pay and benefits, has dismissed anger that the nationwide industrial action will hit major events, including concerts, test match cricket and festivals, declaring: ‘There is never a good time for railway dispute. We can’t passively sit around’.

Mr Lynch also insisted that he didn’t want to hit the British economy, despite experts estimating each day of strikes costs the country between £10million and £50million in lost productivity and sales.

The RMT has threatened many more strike dates in a summer of discontent if the dispute over pay and jobs isn’t resolved at a time when Britain is in the middle of the worst cost of living crisis in a generation. The strikes are part of a ‘summer meltdown’ with problems at Britain’s airports, many of which are in disarray because of staff shortages. And in more bad news, the walkout by 50,000 union members means rail freight could also be hit, resulting in empty shelves and a petrol shortage.

Mr Lynch said: ‘We don’t want disruption for anyone and I apologise for that. We don’t follow the comings and goings of Glastonbury or pop concerts. There is never a good time for railway dispute. I want the economy to be sound. But we can’t passively sit around while our members become poorer and are under the threat of losing their jobs’.

He added: ‘We haven’t got a pay deal in three years while inflation is rampant. And our members have had enough’.

Talks between Network Rail (NR) and the union are expected to be held in the next few days, sources told the PA news agency.  It is understood that during opening talks the RMT was offered a minimum two per cent pay increase for workers.

The union’s negotiators were told that this could increase if they were willing to accept modernisation of working practices. Its resistance to modernisation has been branded ‘absurd’, with one senior industry source last month revealing how the union was even blocking staff from using mobile phone apps to better communicate with each other during the pandemic.

NR is also drawing up contingency plans, with the strikes expected to cause disruption to services for six days, from the first walkout on Tuesday June 21 to the day after the third strike.

Fewer than one in five trains are likely to run, and only between 7am and 7pm, probably only on main lines.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid called on the unions to call off their action. He said union leaders should ‘act like adults’ and come to a ‘sensible solution’ to disputes in the rail industry.

Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘When it comes to these strikes, it is very disappointing what the unions have said, because it’s not just going to cause misery for the travellers, but it’s actually, I think, the wrong outcome for the workers as well.

‘Because anyone working in this industry, any industry for that matter, you want it to be sustainable for the long term. It’s not possible to keep giving it the same level of support it got during the pandemic.’

Put to him that the Government could legislate to ward off the strikes, he said: ‘There are of course options for the Government. And I know that my colleague, the Secretary of State for Transport, will be looking at all options.

‘But the most important thing right now would be for the union leaders to get around the table with the industry leaders and just basically act like adults and just to come to a sensible solution.’

No direct talks are planned between the union and train operators, although the RMT said it is open to ‘meaningful negotiations’ to try to resolve the dispute.

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said the organisation is ‘doing everything we can’ to avoid the strike action.

‘There are two weeks until the first strike is planned. We will use this time to keep talking to our unions and, through compromise and common sense on both sides, we hope to find a solution and avoid the damage that strike action would cause all involved,’ he said.

Rail Delivery Group chairman Steve Montgomery said the strikes are ‘needless and damaging’.

Industry insiders point to Drax power station in North Yorkshire, which can only stockpile supplies sufficient for two or three days and services millions of homes.

Tesco and Puma Energy, which supplies garage forecourts, have also raised concerns about supply lines.