Christmas chaos on the railways is being fuelled by Labour’s bumper pay rises, the Transport Secretary has admitted.
Heidi Alexander said the hefty sums handed out, with no concessions or reforms, meant many drivers were putting their feet up, rather than taking on the overtime needed to keep the network running.
It comes amid warnings of gridlock on the roads this weekend, and adverse weather across parts of the UK as millions plot their Christmas getaway.
Tory transport spokesman Gareth Bacon said: ‘Yet more chaos, just months into Labour’s premiership. By constantly kowtowing to their union paymasters, Labour are letting passengers down, and causing Christmas misery which will undoubtedly become an unwelcome and persistent feature in the New Year.’
Train services across the country are expected to be disrupted by staff shortages this weekend, particularly tomorrow because many drivers and other crew members do not have Sunday working included in their contracts.
It means numerous operators often rely on them volunteering to work extra paid shifts to run timetabled services on that day.
Labour ended years of disputes with unions by agreeing a 14 per cent rise over three years to push train drivers’ average salaries up to nearly £70,000.
This included a backdated pay rise going back to 2022, paid into bank accounts in one lump sum.
There are warnings of gridlock on the roads this weekend, and adverse weather across parts of the UK as millions plot their Christmas getaway
But Ms Alexander admitted the deal – signed by her predecessor Louise Haigh – would have unintended consequences for rail passengers over Christmas.
Union-friendly Ms Haigh was sacked last month when a fraud conviction came to light.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Some of the things I am hearing is that because there was that lump sum which was a back payment, some drivers and train crew are saying: “Actually, we don’t feel the need to be working on the Sunday”, in the same way as they would have done previously in relation to making sure their household finances are stacking up.
‘That’s not going to be a problem next year because the back pay only happens once.’
It comes ahead of the usual skeleton services running over the Christmas period, with no trains on Christmas Day, and a very limited service operated by a small number of firms on Boxing Day.
Some major terminals, including London Paddington and London Liverpool Street, will be closed entirely during parts of the festive period to allow for maintenance.
Simon Clarke, the Tory former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, posted on social media that the train drivers situation was ‘the definition of a lose-lose outcome for the public’.
Anticipated disruption on the railways is expected to put even more pressure on the country’s road network, with nearly 30 million getaway journeys due to be made in the days leading up to Christmas Day.
Heidi Alexander said the hefty sums handed out, with no concessions or reforms, meant many drivers were putting their feet up
Travellers on the M25 motorway this morning after the AA warned drivers of very busy roads)
Tory transport spokesman Gareth Bacon said: ‘Yet more chaos, just months into Labour’s premiership’
Nearly half of these (14.2 million) are expected to be made this weekend, according to the RAC and travel specialists Inrix.
The RAC is describing today as ‘snarl-up Saturday’, with an estimated 3.7 million journeys made. Yet the busiest single day for getaways is expected to be Christmas Eve, with 3.8 million festive journeys by car.
The Met Office last night said it was likely to be a ‘wet and windy weekend for many’, putting further strain on the travel network.
Yellow warnings for wind have been issued in the North West and the North East of England, Scotland and parts of Wales and Northern Ireland from this morning to 9pm tomorrow.
RAC breakdown spokesman Alice Simpson said: ‘Our research suggests that with Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year, many drivers will be squeezing in their getaway trips right up until the big day itself.’
At the airports, Heathrow said it expected to serve record numbers of passengers on Christmas Day, with figures up 21 per cent on the same time last year. Gatwick said it expected today to be the busiest travel day over the festive period, while more than 250 flights are scheduled for Christmas Day.
It comes as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced a series of strikes on Avanti West Coast’s services over the coming months.