Rail strike expected to be blocked by legal challenge

Hopes were rising today that a national rail strike next week will be called off.

Network Rail has launched a legal challenge to prevent the four-day strike going ahead on Tuesday, claiming to have uncovered scores of "inaccuracies and deficiencies" in a ballot by the RMT union.

The case was to have been heard in the High Court this afternoon but was adjourned until 10am tomorrow after the RMT asked for more time to prepare its papers.

If the court rules in Network Rail's favour, as it is expected to do, the union will have to call off the strike by up to 5,000 signal staff which is threatening to bring most of the railways to a halt. Network Rail maintenance workers are also scheduled to strike next week but their ballot is not being challenged. Rail chiefs say this stoppage will be far less disruptive.

Network Rail accused the RMT of failing to comply with the law governing trade unions in the signallers' ballot, which showed a 54 per cent majority in favour of industrial action.

NR said at issue were almost 300 votes or potential votes. It said the inaccuracies included 11 signal boxes balloted by the RMT that do not exist; 67 locations where the number of RMT members balloted exceeded the number of employees there; 26 workplaces which were missed out, giving RMT members at these locations no vote; and 12 locations where there were no operations staff at all. The union said it will strongly defend the legal action.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail's director of operations and customer services, said: "We have a responsibility to the entire country to head off this strike and let people enjoy their Easter break."

RMT union leader Bob Crow today released a leaked report from a London Underground seminar in January which backed wholesale staffing cuts and advised "recession helps, now is time to make changes". Mr Crow has declared a strike ballot among 10,000 Tube staff over plans to axe 800 jobs, mainly station and ticket office employees.