Thousands of commuters across the UK are set to endure up to three days of travel mayhem as staff at five train firms began a fresh wave of strikes in separate disputes over “rail safety”. Rail, Maritime and Transport union members at Northern, Merseyrail, South Western Railway (SWR) and Greater Anglia were striking on Monday, with further walkouts planned for Wednesday and Friday, the BBC reported.
RMT members at Southern Rail were also staging a 24-hour walkout. A Department for Transport spokesman said the five franchises would “keep passengers moving” during the strikes.
The 24-hour walkouts were called over separate disputes, all concerning rail safety, the RMT said. It said the disputes were over issues including the role of train guards and the extension of driver-only services. SWR is expected to be the worst-hit railway throughout the three days of strikes.
All of the affected firms said they will be running services during the strikes.