Scarborough Armed Forces Day Event Hit by Rail Strike

A busy day on the Yorkshire Coast's roads could now be even busier with the news that a national rail strike will be taking place on Saturday June 25th, the day Scarborough is hosting the National Armed Forces day event.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) is to stage three days of strike action. The planned industrial action is set to take place on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June and will affect a number of train operators including TransPennine Express and Northern. The industrial action will also affect Network Rail.

Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director at TransPennine Express, said:

“We are now working with industry colleagues, who are also affected by the industrial action, to determine what level of service we will be able to provide.

“Our customers should be aware however that any amended timetable is likely to represent a significant reduction in services across TPE’s entire network.

“We will publish our amended timetable as soon as possible via our website and National Rail Enquiries.

“In the meantime, anyone planning on travelling is advised to avoid using TPE services on the affected days and to consider alternative options. People making essential rail journeys should be aware services are likely to be extremely busy and may be subject to delays and short-notice cancellations.”

The National Armed Forces Day event is being held in Scarborough after twice being postponed due to COVID. Event organisers say as many as 200,000 people are expected to flock to the town to see the very best of the RAF in the skies above the town’s South Bay, It’s also hoped a destroyer and frigate can be moored in South Bay to complement the Army’s land-based assets and the RAF’s planned air displays including the Red Arrows.

The RMT say that over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of 3 days of national strike action, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989. The union says it will shut down the country's railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, due to the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.

The RMT says that Network Rail and the train operating companies have "subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe" and that despite "intense talks" with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:

"Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.

"We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.

"Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.

Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director at TransPennine Express, said:

“TPE is extremely disappointed with the news that RMT members will again be taking industrial action, particularly at a time when the rail industry – together with much of the nation – continues to work together to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We remain open for talks with the union, but any talks must be realistic, affordable and take into account the context of the environment in which the rail industry is now operating.”

Northern Trains say:

"We are working hard to understand what this means for our network and will update our website once known."