Talks to end rail strike misery

First North Western was forced to cancel all services

Negotiations are under way to try to end a series of planned 24-hour rail strikes - the first of which blighted the journey of thousands of workers in north Wales on Tuesday.

Members of the drivers union Aslef and the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are attempting to reach a settlement with train operators First North Western.

We need a resolution on all of the disciplinary disputes which have caused the union concern

Aslef spokesperson

It follows a decision by union members to hold a series of 24-hour walkouts - the first of which began at midnight on Monday.

The dispute centres around a number of disciplinary matters which unions have said need to be fully resolved before they consider calling off the action.

A spokesperson for Aslef said: "Our aim is to settle the dispute and we are hoping for an agreement as soon as possible.

"However, we need a resolution on all of the disciplinary disputes which have caused the union concern."

Blame culture

The unions voted for strike action after a long-running row over the downgrading and dismissals of a number of its members.

One of the cases involved the sacking of a driver who had passed two red lights and was caught exceeding the speed limit by 10mph.

The unions said the company has developed a "culture of blame and fault-finding".

But First North Western have said they are not prepared to compromise the safety of their passengers and they intend to stand by their decision.

The train operator caters for more than 8,000 passengers who travel on the north Wales coastal routes every day.

Lets hope that the long-term effect won't be to deter people from using the railway

Dafydd Huws, Rail Passengers Committee for Wales

It operates the biggest train service in north Wales and the north west of England and was forced to suspended all services for the duration of the strike.

Services between London and Holyhead were also cancelled because drivers for First North Western are contracted out to Virgin Trains.

Members of the Rail Passengers Committee for Wales have said an agreement should be reached before any permanent damage is done.

The committee's Dafydd Huws said: "One hopes that they will reach a successful conclusion.

"The strikes caused a lot of problems yesterday for passengers and some people didn't even seem to know there was a strike on.

"Lets hope that the long-term effect won't be to deter people from using the railway."

Further 24-hour strikes by the unions are planned for 5 and 8 April.