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Could your summer travel plans be disrupted? New overtime ban dates threaten to impact services across the country News Briefing

Could your summer travel plans be disrupted? New overtime ban dates threaten to impact services across the country

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Overtime bans are set to continue, impacting services across the country (Picture: Getty Images)

Train passengers are set to face yet more disruption to their journey in the coming weeks after unions added more dates to an ongoing overtime ban.

The action will now see services impacted for the remainder of July and into August, with hundreds of trains set to be cancelled as summer travel reaches its peak.

The action is the latest in the long-running pay dispute train drivers are facing. coinciding with another round of train strikes as well as action on the Tube, set to bring travel misery to millions.

When are the new overtime ban dates – and how will summer travel be impacted?

What are the new overtime ban dates?

The new overtime ban dates on the rail network will be from July 31 until August 5.

It follows the first week of the overtime ban from Monday July 3 until Saturday 8, and a second week from Monday July 17 until Saturday July 22.

The latest dates pile on yet more disruption for commuters already hit by a month’s worth of strike action.

The dispute with Aslef over pay and conditions could drag on for months (Picture: PA)

Commuters are facing several days worth of Tube strikes, with services set to be severely disrupted between July 25 and 28 – while train strikes will also take place across the network on July 20, 22 and 29.

How will summer travel be impacted?

It’s likely that hundreds of trains will be cancelled as a result of the overtime ban, with many train companies forced to publish amended or reduced timetables.

While it’s not yet clear which companies will be affected by the new week of action, National Rail has said that the following will be unable to run a full timetable in the week of July 17-22:

We have not heard a word from the employers in the last 12 weeks. “In contrast,we want a resolution. A fair resolution. That is why we are taking this action to bring things to a head…” @MickWhelanASLEF 👇https://t.co/ur0gkDOI9D— ASLEF (@ASLEFunion) July 17, 2023

Chiltern Railways

Gatwick Express

Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express)

Great Western Railway

Great Northern

Southern

South Western Railway (including Island Line)

Thameslink

TransPennine Express

The following train operating companies may also be affected – while they expect to run a full timetable some trains may be cancelled at short notice.

Avanti West Coast

CrossCountry

East Midlands Railway

LNER

London Northwestern Railway

Northern

Southeastern

West Midlands Railway

c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Grand Central, Elizabeth line, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, London Overground, Lumo, Merseyrail, ScotRail and Transport for Wales are not affected by the ban.

Some train companies may run an amended or reduced service (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If you have a journey planned, check before you travel whether your service is likely to be affected – and keep an eye on the National Rail website for which companies are impact by the next week of action.

Why is there an overtime ban?

The Aslef union says members who haven’t had a pay rise for four years shouldn’t have to sacrifice their working conditions just to get an increase that doesn’t match inflation.

Aslef has already rejected the offer of a deal worth 4%, which would bring a train driver’s average pay to £65,000 a year, for two years in a row.

The deal was contingent on changes to train drivers’ working practices, which employers and the government have said are needed to cut costs and modernise the railways.

More train strikes are also set to cause misery for passengers (Picture: PA)

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘They wanted to go back to Victorian times, in relation to how we roster, how we recruit, how we do things.

‘The word ‘reform’ is “want productivity for nothing”.’

He claimed it is a ‘Westminster ideological problem’ because the union isn’t having issues with the London Underground, Crossrail or Eurostar, with freight or with services in Scotland and Wales.

He continued: ‘We did 14 pay deals in the last 12 months. The only place we can’t get a pay deal is with the Westminster government.’

MORE : Summer holiday misery as Gatwick Airport staff call strike

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