Strike action over concerns for safety on a new fleet of East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains will affect passengers travelling between Corby, Bedford and London over the bank holiday weekend.
Members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) are taking 48-hour strike action from Sunday, August 30, regarding ongoing safety concerns and major train faults.
The issues surround the new Class 810 trains, which the RMT say have a “list of faults” including lack of air conditioning, door faults and non-working toilets.
The affected routes from Bedford are EMR trains north to Corby and south to Luton and London St Pancras.
Strike action has already affected services throughout the summer, and additional strike action is planned for 16 and 17 September.
Read: Bedford rail users warned of RMT strike action affecting services throughout August
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that its representatives are involved in discussions with both EMR and Hitachi to try to improve the situation with the 810 units.
“RMT is demanding that whilst these faults exist and until these trains are shown to be operating properly, they should be taken out of service,” said RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey.
“It is now time for EMR management to act on the safety concerns of our members,” he said.
Addressing concerns
EMR says it has met with union representatives six times to attempt to resolve concerns and is working closely with Hitachi Rail to ensure they are properly addressed.
Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We understand how important it is for our customers to have certainty about their travel plans and recognise the uncertainty and disruption this strike action will cause, particularly over the August Bank Holiday.
“Our teams are currently working through the detail of our service plan and assessing what services we will be able to operate on the affected days.
“We will share further information with our customers as soon as it is available and continue to provide updates through our website, stations and social media channels.”
