Summer rail strikes set to cause major disruption for dozens of events
A SUMMER of rail misery was feared last night with ministers drawing up a list of 30 showpiece events facing major disruption.
Sports fans have been put on notice to plan ahead of possible industrial action.
Travel to three England football matches, the Commonwealth Games and the tennis at Wimbledon could be hit.
A ballot of 40,000 members of the Rail and Maritime Transport Workers closes on Tuesday.
There are fears that the RMT will co-ordinate strikes with fellow unions Aslef and the TSSA to cause mayhem.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last night said the rail network has been on life support for the past two years — with the union leadership planning to give it a “heart attack”.
Read More on Politics
The dispute is over pay, redundancies and a call for a guarantee of “no detrimental changes to working practices”.
Unions are after double-digit pay rises to keep pace with inflation.
Union barons face the risk of legislation that would insist on minimum train services running during any strike action in the future, insiders say.
RMT boss Mick Lynch warned that if there was no resolution the rail network would come to a “grinding halt”.
Most read in News
TSSA boss Manuel Cortes said the country could see the biggest disruption since the General Strike of 1926.
