Passenger trains can be BLOCKED from the platforms of the stations by parked freight services when they strike, warns the chief of railway transport
- GB Railfreight’s John Smith warned of chaos if there were rail strikes
- He said freight trains may need to block platforms to support emergency deliveries
- Leaving staff can affect the supply of petrol and diesel and deliveries to shops
- Railway staff voted in favor of industrial action to improve pay and conditions
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
Posted: 18:01, 26 May 2022 | Updated: 18:39, 26 May 2022
Passenger trains could be blocked from station platforms by parked freight services during strikes, an industry leader warned.
John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said the measure could be necessary if a skeletal schedule is applied during industrial operations.
Concerns were expressed that the departure of staff could lead to the closure of much of the railway network, which would affect the supply of petrol and diesel and the delivery of goods to shops.
Union leaders will decide next week when to go on strike after workers backed a majority of industrial action on jobs, pay and conditions.
John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said the measure could be needed if a skeletal schedule is applied during planned industrial operations to keep up with vital supplies such as petrol and diesel, as well as supermarket products. and shops
Railway unions vote in favor of strike action to fight for better pay and conditions for their members
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Baroness Vere said it was “very important to try to prioritize rail freight wherever we can, because supply chains are very important”.
Freight operators are discussing with Network Rail the impact of the strikes on its signalers.
It is possible that about 80% of the services will be interrupted, as the trains will run only part of the day and only on the main lines.
Mr Smith, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group’s freight board, said: “If we only work for 12 hours (a day), we will have to park freight trains at railway stations until the next 12 hours. -the time period is coming out and we can start moving again.
“We have trains that (currently) run around the clock.
“One of the key problems we have with the 12-hour schedule is that our trains often make only one turn a day around the 24-hour clock to load them, get them to where they are going, unload them and bring them back.
“If the railway is only open (for) 12 hours, then they are only halfway or stuck in the middle of nowhere.
“Prioritizing rail freight as part of a strike would be largely to say, ‘You can’t drive your passenger train, we’re going to have to park on the platform of this station.’
“It simply came to our notice then. We are in a debate with Network Rail about what the schedule looks like and how it can work.
Mr Smith predicted that disrupting fuel supplies and transporting goods arriving in ports would be what “the man on the street begins to see first” from the strikes.
He said freight trains supply most of the road fuel in the Midlands, so industrial action could lead to depletion of petrol and diesel in some of the region’s front yards, which “quickly leads to panic buying”.
But his “biggest fear” is that the threat of strikes could persuade businesses to delay the shift from road to rail as part of decarbonisation efforts.
He said some company bosses may think “now is not the time” to invest in rail freight infrastructure, believing that railways are “not a reliable supply chain” due to potential disruptions.
Members of the Union for Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) in Network Rail and 13 train operators overwhelmingly supported industrial action in the vote.
The union will have to give two weeks’ notice of the strikes, which could begin in mid-June.
The government and railway companies have criticized the move, calling it “extremely frustrating and premature” and warned that the move could affect the railway industry’s recovery from coronavirus damage.
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