Millions face Easter travel chaos as national rail strike is threatened

Millions of rail passengers face disruption to their Easter travel plans amid the threat of a first national rail strike since 1994. Signallers and maintenance workers with the RMT union are being balloted on action over job cuts and changes to working practices, with the results due next week. Network Rail ‑ which owns the country's tracks, signals and stations ‑ said a walkout by signallers could bring trains across the network to a halt. Robin Gisby, Network Rail director of operations, said he expected 5,500 signallers and thousands of maintenance staff to strike at the same time over Easter. "Our guess is that it will come together this Easter weekend," he said, but indicated that the company would not back down over the changes to shift patterns and voluntary job cuts underpinning the dispute. "I cannot live with the RMT holding the whole country to ransom," he said. Network Rail, which employs 18,000 maintenance workers, is cutting 1,500 posts. The vast majority of the cuts are being achieved through voluntary redundancies as new equipment and techniques transform the duties of maintenance staff. Network Rail believes it can withstand a strike by maintenance workers for a week, but anything longer could see speed restrictions imposed in order to protect tracks, with some branch lines being shut down. Gisby admitted a strike by signallers would cause significant problems because major signalling centres would be left unstaffed. The result of the maintenance workers' ballot is due to be announced on Thursday, with that of the signallers at the end of next week. Network Rail has weathered local strikes in the past, but the rail industry has not endured a national strike for 16 years. The RMT pounced on a warning by the rail regulator last week, saying it was proof that Network Rail's reforms were threatening safety. The Office of Rail Regulation ‑ which has backed the cost savings underpinning the maintenance cuts ‑ warned senior managers could be overworked under the untested proposals. The RMT general secretary, Bob Crow, claimed the changes could result in repeats of the Potters Bar crash, which killed seven people in May 2002, and the Hatfield accident, in which four passengers died in 2000. Both were caused by track and points problems. "No matter how they try to spin it, the maintenance cuts and the changes to safety practices involving signallers will leave the senior management at Network Rail with blood on their hands in the event of another Hatfield or Potters Bar," Crow said. "That is the issue at the heart of these disputes." Network Rail is adamant that the changes will not endanger passenger or worker safety, and points to an accident record that has improved significantly since it took over the UK rail network from Railtrack in October 2002.