Rail chaos again as strike reduces services to 20%

More than 40,000 workers walk out again in row over pay and conditions

- SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS

SHUTTERS down, empty departure boards and an eerie quietness isn’t what you’d expect to find at Piccadilly train station on a normal Saturday afternoon.

But as the nation continues to be gripped by ongoing rail strikes, the usually buzzing terminal was practically deserted yesterday.

More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 15 train operating companies have walked out again in a row over jobs, pay and conditions.

As a result, just 20 per cent of normal train services were running through the station. It rarely felt so quiet since the national lockdowns during the pandemic.