Rail union announces more dates for strikes to affect Southport trains

Rail union announces more dates for strikes to affect Southport trains

Merseyrail passengers will once again have to endure industrial action, as the RMT announces it will stage further strikes on 1, 3 and 4 September.

This will be the sixth this year, and follows the last day of industrial action on Sunday 24 July, timed to coincide with the last day of The Open golf championship at Royal Birkdale.

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail’s managing director, commented:

‘The RMT say this dispute is about safety. But a recent industry report (RSSB, Risk associated with train dispatch, July 2017) states that: ‘… there is no additional risk for passengers boarding and alighting *DCO/DOO trains, and indeed that trains without a guard actually appear to lower overall dispatch related safety risk to passengers.’

The RSSB report corroborates the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) position on this matter.