Train strike dates set

Hundreds of thousands of commuters today faced fresh travel misery when militant union chiefs announced two new 48-hour train strikes.

Members of the RMT union will refuse to work on 6-7 May and 27-28 May, affecting services into London on the busiest commuter routes.

The stoppages, over the role of train guards, are set to take place on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays following the May bank holidays and will again cost firms millions of pounds in delayed staff and lost business.

The strikes follow three 24-hour stoppages in recent weeks and are designed to spread chaos across the national rail network, hitting 12 train operating companies. London-bound commuter train companies will be hardest hit - with Connex South Eastern and South Central carrying more than 200,000 passengers into the capital every day.

Today one passenger pressure group warned the new stoppages could prove the final straw for many frustrated commuters who may decide to abandon the trains for good and take to their cars. And commuters slammed the action by the guards as "pointless and selfish".

But RMT general secretary Bob Crow blamed the train firms for the strikes and claimed his members were taking action because safety was being compromised. The union says the rail companies are trying to turn guards into "Kit-Kat sellers" instead of concentrating on safety.

Mr Crow said today: "The employers know it will cost them nothing to settle the dispute, but they have made no effort to come to an agreement.

"The guards' role has been watered down and it needs to be restored to the rule book in full. Our members and the travelling public have the right to know that the safest working practices are in place."

But Keith Dyall, of passenger group Railfuture, warned further industrial action could cause to stop using the rail ways.

He said: "We are very concerned because any strike damages the image of the network and may drive more people away from using the train. Passengers feel safer on trains with guards but it may be necessary for their role to change. In the end I suspect the strike may be counterproductive for the guards."

Paul Hayward, a 36-year-old accountant from Brighton who travels daily to Bishopsgate, said: "The union knows the train companies will not back down and the only people who will suffer - again - are the travelling public."

Train companies affected by the new strieks include Connex South Eastern, which runs services from south-east London and Kent into Cannon Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria stations, and South Central, which operates services in Sussex and south London.

Thames Trains, Paddington were cancelled due to over-running Easter holiday engineering work yesterday, are also likely to be hit. The strike will also affect companies further afield, such as Virgin CrossCountry, which has routes to the Midlands, and Virgin West Coast Main Line, with services between Euston, the Midlands and Scotland. The new strikes follow action by guards last

Thursday when passengers suffered delays and cancellations on the busiest rail travel day of the year.

Meanwhile, Tube chiefs have agreed to a U-turn on refunding money to travelcard holders affected by the closure of the Central line after the derailment at Chancery Lane. London Underground has decided it affected weekly ticket passengers as much as those with longer season tickets.