COMMUTERS and other rail users are facing major disruption next week after workers at several train companies, including West Midlands Railway, voted to strike.
Residents travelling on the Cross-City Line to Bromsgrove and Redditch from Lichfield Trent Valley can expect one train per hour to their town between Tuesday and Saturday, with normal services resuming on Sunday after a later start-up.
There will also be no trains to Bromsgrove via the Birmingham New Street to Hereford line between Tuesday and Saturday, with minor amendments to the service on Monday.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) will be imposing strike action on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week, impacting the number of trains that can run.
A limited service will be running between 7.30am and 6.30pm to allow vital freight transportation to continue.
The knock-on impact of the strike will also see Wednesday’s and Friday’s train times affected, with services starting at 7:30am and last trains being earlier than usual.
WMR customer experience director, Jonny Wiseman said the RMT’s actions were ‘very disappointing’ and urged customers to only to use the train if their journey was essential and they had no other transport option available.
“Passengers holding tickets or season tickets will be entitled to refunds and should visit our website for information.”
Passenger assistance will still be available on the services that are still running.
RMT called for a face-to-face meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday to try and avert strike action.
The strike is over pay and job losses, and in a letter to Grant Shapps RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the Treasury is “calling the shots” and is not allowing rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with the union.
Tony Woodward, from Bromsgrove and Redditch Rail User Partnership (BARRUP), said: “It’s a difficult one because you can’t stop people protesting.
“When workers have got a grievance, they need to be able to protest.
“If this was any other company, we would probably not hear about it – it’s only because it is stopping people travelling.”
