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Tuesday, 25 January, 2000, 18:13 GMT

Rail strike sparks travel misery

Thousands of commuters have been struggling home on packed trains and roads as a rail strike decimated services on some of the UK's busiest routes.

Only one in 10 Connex trains was running in the south east of England, leaving the remaining trains more crammed than usual.

In the morning rush hour, Gillingham station in Kent was closed for half an hour because of overcrowding.And traffic in London rose sharply.

The real nightmare was averted because many people took days off or worked from home
Nick Simmons

But worse overcrowding on both the roads and the trains was avoided because many thousands of people stayed at home for the day.

They either worked from home with their employers' consent or took the day off.

Many stations in Kent, Sussex and Greater London were deserted during the normally busy rush-hour because no trains were stopping.

Traffic in London increased by an estimated 15%, although a series of early morning breakdowns and accidents, including one at the busy Blackwall Tunnel south east of the capital, made congestion worse. train

Dispute over rest days

Drivers from the UK's largest rail company have been in dispute with Connex since before Christmas over working on rest days.

Last-ditch talks failed to avert the first of a series of planned strikes, but late on Tuesday Connex revealed that informal contact had been made with the drivers' union, Aslef.

The company said it would do everything it could to avert five more threatened strikes.

Nick Simmons, business development director of Integrated Transport Information Services said: "The real nightmare was averted because many people, often with their employers' consent, took days off or worked from home."

"However, the worry is that if the further five planned strikes go ahead, employers will be less understanding and will start to demand that their people make it in, come what may."

Support 'solid'

Connex was only running around 350 trains instead of its usual 3,500.

The company said trains were busier than normal but said overcrowding had not reached "uncomfortable levels".

French-owned Connex stands to lose Ł1m for each day of strike action and hopes drivers will drift back to work.

Aslef said its members were solidly supporting the strike.

General secretary Mick Rix said: "We are deeply saddened by the disruption caused to rail travellers, but we remain available for talks."

Further action is planned on 2, 10, 18, 21, and 29 February.

Related to this story:
Train strike causes commuter chaos (24 Jan 00 | UK)
Legal threat to rail union (21 Dec 99 | Business)
Commuters braced for disruption (13 Dec 98 | UK)

Internet Links: Office of Passenger Rail Franchising: Connex South Eastern OPRAF: Connex South Central Aslef Info London - travel information
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