A UNION embroiled in a long-running industrial dispute with railway operators has announced another batch of strikes to take place at the start of May.
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union has announced a series of dates for ‘action short of a strike’, whereby members refuse to work any hours beyond their contracted hours and between certain times and a full strike day, where members do not work.
The ‘action short of a strike’ will begin on the early May Bank Holiday, May 6, and continue throughout the week until Saturday, May 11, while a full strike day will be held on Wednesday, May 8.
It is set to leave the vast majority of Cornwall without railway services on the strike day; while the exact timetable is awaiting confirmation from the railway operator, previous ASLEF strike days have seen the majority of Cornwall with no services with the exception of Penzance to St Ives and Gunnislake to Plymouth.
Action short of a strike day could see short notice cancellations.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway (GWR) said: “The Aslef union has announced strike action that will affect GWR; Cross Country; Chiltern Railways and other train operators on Wednesday, May 8.
“In addition, there could be further disruption from Monday, May 6 to Saturday May 11 due to industrial action short of a strike which is likely to cause some short-notice alterations or cancellations across the rail network.
“A rolling programme of strike action by the union is also due to take place affecting other rail operators between these dates.
“If you are travelling during this period, you should check both outward and return journeys before travelling.
“On Wednesday, May 8, a reduced, revised timetable will operate across several train operators, including GWR. Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all and trains that are running will only be operating for a limited period during the day.
“The days before and after strikes, services could also be affected by a limited number of short-notice cancellations and alterations.
“Online journey planners are being updated.”