PASSENGERS are braced for yet another day of chaos on the trains through York as strikes are set to hit services again tomorrow (August 13).

Train drivers belonging to the ASLEF trade union, representing 96 per cent of the train drivers in England, Scotland and Wales, are due to go on a one-day strike tomorrow (August 13) over disputes concerning pay rises, they say.

The affected rail operators who run services through York railway station, are LNER, CrossCountry and Hull Trains.

This means that CrossCountry will not be running any services tomorrow, LNER and Hull Trains are running reduced services tomorrow and Sunday (August 14).

Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: "We don’t want to go on strike – strikes are always a last resort – but the companies, and the government, have, I’m afraid, forced our hand.

“We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, we believe in building trust in the railways in Britain, and we don’t want to lose money by taking industrial action.

“But the companies have said that they cannot – or will not – give our members an increase. They blame the government. So we are caught in a Catch-22 situation where each side blames the other.

“The drivers at these nine companies have not had an increase for three years – since April 2019. That means, with inflation running at 11 per cent, and predicted to go even higher, that we are being told to take a real terms pay cut. And that is not acceptable.

“Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open for talks if the companies, or government, want to come to the negotiating table and make a sensible offer.”

ASLEF said that they balloted for industrial action at the companies which they say haven’t negotiated with them.

Ballots for other companies, which are yet to negotiate, including Northern Trains and Transpennine Express, close on Thursday, August 25, meaning train drivers of these companies may also go on strike.

To check the updated train timetables for tomorrow, click here for LNER and here for Hull Trains.