LNER train drivers to strike in early February as dispute escalates
The UK’s train drivers’ union has announced further strikes in February, escalating the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
ASLEF members from LNER will walk-out from 5 February for five days, tacking onto the end of seven days of industrial action already scheduled to begin on Tuesday 29 January.
The combination of strikes and a ban on overtime in late January were announced by ASLEF earlier this week, affecting 16 operators across the country.
LNER provides long-distance inter-city services on the East Coast Main Line from London. The principal destinations it serves are Leeds, York, Newcastle upon Tyne and Edniburgh.
Full strikes will take place between the 5th and the 9th. Train drivers will also refuste to work overtime between Wednesday 7 and Saturday 10.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘We have given LNER management – and their government counterparts who hold the purse strings – every opportunity to come to the table and they have so far made no realistic offer to our members.
‘We have not heard from the Transport Secretary since December 2022, or from the train operating companies since April 2023.
‘It’s time for them to come to the table and work with us to resolve this dispute so we can all move forward and get our railway back on track.’