Five-day strike by train guards at South Western Railway is set to cause misery for commuters, race-goers heading to Royal Ascot, and music fans with tickets to see Metallica at Twickenham
- Rail bosses accuse the RMT union of ‘cynically’ targeting events for strike action
- Rail and Maritime Union action to affect commuters travelling to the Royal Ascot
- The planned strike action will disrupt one of Britain’s busiest commuter services
- The train guard strike is set to continue until Saturday, when Royal Ascot finishes
Hundreds of thousands of commuters, race-goers and music fans face misery as a five-day rail strike starts tomorrow.
The Rail and Maritime Union (RMT) action will disrupt services run by South Western Railway, one of Britain’s busiest commuter services, and hit Royal Ascot, one of the most popular race meetings of the year.
The train guard strike is set to continue until Saturday, when Royal Ascot finishes.
![The RMT, whose members are mostly guards, is protesting against the decision by rail operators to make drivers open and close the doors on new trains. A file photo is used above for illustrative purposes only [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/17/00/13599680-7039043-image-a-35_1558049976156.jpg)
The RMT, whose members are mostly guards, is protesting against the decision by rail operators to make drivers open and close the doors on new trains. A file photo is used above for illustrative purposes only [File photo]
Rail bosses also accused the RMT of ‘cynically’ targeting events such as the Hampton Court Palace Music Festival and a Metallica concert at Twickenham, as well as commuters at Waterloo.
The RMT, whose members are mostly guards, is protesting against the decision by rail operators to make drivers open and close the doors on new trains.
General secretary Mick Cash said South Western had ‘failed to bolt down an agreement that matches our expectations’.
But South Western said the strike was ‘driven by internal RMT politics’.
![The train guard strike is set to continue until Saturday, when Royal Ascot finishes. Hundreds of thousands of commuters, race-goers and music fans face misery as a five-day rail strike starts tomorrow [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/06/16/23/14867466-7147625-image-a-31_1560725339958.jpg)
The train guard strike is set to continue until Saturday, when Royal Ascot finishes. Hundreds of thousands of commuters, race-goers and music fans face misery as a five-day rail strike starts tomorrow [File photo]