Rail Strikes ‘As Bad As It Gets’ for Rail Freight

RFG today  (8 June 2022) urged Government, Network Rail and the RMT to urgently resolve their differences ahead of the planned rail strikes in June.  Yesterday, RMT announced that strikes would take place on 21, 23 and 25 June, affecting key Network Rail staff including signallers.

Rail freight operators, customers and Network Rail have been working hard on contingency plans to keep as much freight operating as possible, particularly for critical traffic.  However, there is still expected to be significant disruption to services and to customers’ supply chains as a result of this action.

RFG Director General, Maggie Simpson OBE, said: “The pattern of proposed strike action is about as bad as it gets for rail freight, with disruption likely across the entire week and into the weekend. Even with the plans that are in place, supply chains will be impacted, and it is really damaging to customer confidence in rail, and to future growth.  We urge all parties to find a rapid solution to this damaging dispute.”