Island Line services come to a halt tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday as members of the RMT Union plan to take strike action.
The Union say Chris Grayling’s (pictured) plans for driver-only trains on South Western Railway will “discriminate against older and disabled passengers”.
Seely: “I condemn it”
Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, condemned the move, saying,
“I am very disappointed that this strike is taking place. I condemn it. I do not believe it has anything to do with the Island.
“South Western Railway, which runs the Island Line, has made it absolutely clear to the RMT many times it will not remove guards from trains. No-one is losing their jobs. Despite this, the union is prepared to walk out for 48 hours next Wednesday and Thursday. This strike is a needless and selfish attempt to disrupt other peoples’ lives.
“This industrial action has nothing to do with rail safety and all to do with opposing the Government while using Islanders as pawns.”
Striking for “for altruistic reasons”
Mick Tosh, the RMT’s regional organiser, said the members were taking part in the strike “for altruistic reasons”. While, the RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash, said,
“We have already had concerns raised with us that de-staffing trains – especially when there are already so many unstaffed stations – will increase the risk of crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Now we know that 140 – or seven out of ten – of South Western Railway’s stations are unstaffed and that the company’s own existing policy for protecting disabled and older people recognizes this by guaranteeing a second member of staff on all and every train to help passengers on and off the train and also provided assistance when they are on the train.
“It is a scandal that under Chris Grayling’s plans for South Western protection for disabled and older people will be ripped up as there will no longer be the guarantee of a guard and instead the profits of the company will take priory over the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.”
Managing Director of South Western Trains, Andy Mellor, said,
“Our discussions have been around the introduction of a new fleet of suburban trains, which will start to arrive in 2019 and be fully introduced by December 2020. These modern trains will transform the travelling experience for many of you, as they will have air-conditioning, toilets, at seat charging facilities and improved Wi-Fi.
“These new trains can be operated in a variety of ways and we have been talking to the RMT about which method of operation will be most beneficial in terms of performance and customer service. As part of these discussions we have guaranteed that we will roster a Guard on every train; and that those Guards will continue to be trained in safety procedures.
“Our existing longer distance trains, which will all be refurbished during the franchise, are not part of these discussions and will continue to operate in the same way as they do today.”
Rail replacement bus timetable
A rail replacement bus service will be in operation for Island Line passengers for both days.
The timetable is set out below (click on the full screen icon to see larger version).
Image: Andy Thornley under CC BY 2.0
