UPDATE: The strike action has been called off for the present time so a normal service will run on the 28th and 29th of February.
National Rail reports of proposed industrial action by ASLEF on London Midland services on 28 and 29 February 2008.
Industrial action has not been confirmed yet, but, if it does go ahead, the following services are expected to be affected:
- London Euston – Northampton
- Bletchley – Bedford
- Watford Junction – St. Alban’s Abbey
London Midland services around Birmingham and the West Midlands are currently not expected to be affected.
The industrial action was proposed by ASLEF and shall involve the 178 members working at the Bletchley Depot after, according to ASLEF, talks have broken down with London Midland over pension issues, with some of the train drivers set to loose up to £2,700 annually off the pension they ought to be receiving.
London Midland announced it is disappointed about the strike intentions and continuously tries to resolve the pension issue which it took over from the previous TOC(s) when it was awarded the franchise in Novemeber 2007.
In the meantime, London Midland is looking at contingency plans for 28 and 29 February to reduce the impact of industrial action on its customers as much as possible.
ASLEF said that while London Midland confirms the figures in reduction of pension payments it is only willing to share the cost of correcting the pension fund. General Secretary Keith Norman said this could “only be the beginning” of the dispute.