Further West Midlands Trains disruption ahead amid strike plans
Rail workers will stage a series of 24-hour strikes on Saturdays in the coming weeks in a dispute over the role of guards on trains.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on West Midlands Railway trains will walk out on November 16, 23 and 30 and December 7, 14, 21 and 28, hitting some of the busiest Christmas shopping days.
The move will be the latest blow for West Midlands Railway passengers after services were hit by problems earlier this week.
Staffing shortages and continued timetable problems are among the woes for the operator of West Midlands Railway services.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT has been left with no choice but to call strike action on West Midlands Trains in the face of the company’s refusal to pull back from their threat to bulldoze through driver-only operation and their attack on the safety-critical role of the guard at the platform/train interface.
“We will not allow the drive for profit to override the core issue of safe and accessible services for all on West Midlands Trains and we stand firm on that very basic principle.
“We will never compromise on the issues of passenger safety and accessibility.”
RMT members at the company work as drivers and conductors.
A spokesman for West Midlands Trains, which runs West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services, said: “We have committed to keeping a guard on every passenger train.
"A strike benefits nobody.
“We reached a framework agreement with RMT in May last year which guaranteed a safety-critical conductor on every passenger train.
"We remain determined to find a way of resolving this dispute without disruption and inconvenience for our passengers.”
West Midlands Railway passengers were hit by two days of delays and disruption on Monday and Tuesday this week.
It comes after the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, this week told senior rail executives that long-standing problems on the network are "unacceptable".
He demanded a solution to tackle issues on the railway which have caused misery for commuters, including unreliability and cancellations, over recent months.
