The Rail Maritime and Transport union said it expected solid support from 550 of its members on Central Trains for the 48-hour walkout on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, following a 24-hour stoppage on Christmas Eve.

The company, which usually runs more than 1,000 services a day, said it will run as many trains as it can despite the strike, but the union predicted that few if any services will operate.

The dispute is about extra pay for working over the festive season, as well as the introduction of a new rostering system.

The union accused Central Trains of rejecting a peace plan which it said would have allowed services to run normally.

The company said it reached a deal with national union negotiators but this was turned down by local RMT officials.

Central said senior conductors would have earned about £600 each if they had worked on the three strike days, equivalent to a week-and-a-half's normal wages, adding that it had offered a number of concessions on the introduction of the rostering system.

All services were cancelled on Christmas Eve, but Central's Operations Director Andy Thomas said: "We are going to run as many train services as we can in the East and West Midlands on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day."

Trains most likely to run are local services into Birmingham's Snow Hill station and between Redditch, Birmingham and Lichfield.

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Rail strikes bring commuter misery

Ledbury Reporter: 29th December 2006
By Tarik Al Rasheed

A poster at Great Malvern Station informs passengers of the planned industrial action.

FESTIVE travel plans are being hit hard by strikes across the Central Trains network, leaving scores of residents and visitors in Malvern stranded or struggling to find alternative arrangements.

No Central services ran from the town's railway stations on Christmas Eve, after the operator cancelled more than 400 trains due to industrial action over pay by senior conductors.

Passengers are facing more misery, with further strikes planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, after negotiations with the RMT union proved unsuccessful.

Retired Freda Georgeson, 61, came from Sheffield to spend Christmas at the Abbey Hotel. She made it to Birmingham, where she was stranded and had to wait more than two hours for a bus to Malvern.

Mrs Georgeson said she received little help from railway staff and that the seven-hour journey left her very tired on Christmas Day.

"It has not spoilt my Christmas but it's not been the holiday it should have been because of this," she said. "I can't believe that they would do that to the public. I will never use the trains at Christmas again."

Andrew Pullen, 26, had problems getting from Worcester to Ledbury to spend Christmas with his family.
“I can’t believe that they would do that to the public. I will never use the trains at Christmas again.”
Freda Georgeson

"I had no idea they were striking and I had to ring round my family to see if someone could give me a lift," he said. "I had all my presents with me and I don't drive There's not a chance I will use the trains at new year."

A much-reduced service could still run at new year if enough staff volunteer to work, but 23-year-old student Mark Holland, who is travelling to Malvern from Inverness, is taking no chances.

Mr Holland can get to Birmingham, but is not sure if he can complete his journey because Central has not confirmed which trains are running.

"One of my friends is going to drive to Birmingham to pick me up just in case I can't get to Malvern. It's a real pain, they want to be celebrating not driving," he said.

Central's managing director Steve Banaghan said they had done everything possible to reach an agreement and avoid the strikes.

He said: "Without senior conductors we can't run a train service, so this means passengers will be paying the price at one of the busiest times of the year for travel."

People are advised to check before setting off on journeys by calling National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.