London: Talks to end the rail strike have resumed as train services in Britain continue to be disrupted.
Millions of people were affected on Tuesday after rail workers walked out in the largest strike in decades. Strikes are not being held on Wednesday, but only 60% of trains have been running.
Network Rail’s chief negotiator in the dispute with the RMT union, Tim Shoveller, said he wanted to keep talking until a deal could be achieved.
The RMT, whose members are striking over jobs, pay and conditions, is meeting with Network Rail and train companies, with talks possibly going on into the evening.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Shoveller stressed there was “still time for talking”.
“It’s really important we continue to stress the fact there is no need to have a strike. It doesn’t help,” he said.
“The fact there is a strike means that we lose money in the industry, as well as upsetting our passengers and causing disruption to the wider economy.
“So a really key objective for me is to make sure we get these strikes called off at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The BBC understands even if a deal is reached, it would be too late to prevent disruption on Thursday due to the timetable being set.
Thursday’s strike is set to be identical to the first day of action in terms of impact, with half of the network closed and only 20% of services running with some areas having no trains at all.
It will coincide with a yellow Met Office weather warning for a thunderstorm across much of southern England on Thursday, which could further hamper travel plans.
With 48 hours’ notice, disruption on Saturday could be avoided if a deal is agreed, it is understood.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday afternoon, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps of not “lifting a finger” to stop the strikes.
He told the Commons: “The prime minister of this country and his transport secretary haven’t attended a single meeting, held a conversation or lifted a finger to stop these strikes…
“So rather than blame everyone else why doesn’t he do his job, get round the table and get the trains running?”
Mr Johnson responded that the government was doing “everything we can to prevent these strikes” and it was up to the railway companies to negotiate. BBC
