The biggest rail strikes in 30 years will go ahead this week after last ditch talks failed, the RMT union says
RMT leader Mick Lynch says the union has "no choice" but to take industrial action, blaming government cuts for "hobbling the industry"
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the government is doing its "utmost" to stop the strikes but negotiations are a matter for the union and rail companies
But Labour's shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh says the strikes would "represent a catastrophic failure of leadership"
Train services across England, Scotland and Wales are running on a severely reduced timetable from this evening ahead of the national strike tomorrow
The three-day walkout - on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - is expected to cause disruption across the week, including for people attending Glastonbury festival
A strike will also take place on the London Underground on Tuesday, with effects felt into Wednesday morning
The RMT has "no choice but to defend our members industrially", adds union boss Mick Lynch in his statement.
He says this is a result of cuts within the industry "at the behest of this government".
Lynch says it's a case of fighting for "workplace justice" in the face of the "cost of living crisis".
"We remain available for discussions," he adds.
"They have told us they intend to cut every single ticket office in Britain regardless of the accessibility needs of the public and the diversity of the passengers that use the railway system," says Mick Lynch of the RMT.
Bosses have been "cutting real pay" for RMT members for nearly three years, he says with pay offers way below the retail price index.
"We're going backwards many years" to the cuts agenda of the Thatcher and British Rail era, Lynch says.
The RMT's Mick Lynch says the proposals from the rail companies are "massively under the relevant rates of inflation coming on top of the pay freezes of the past few years".
He adds: "At the behest of the Government, companies are also seeking to implement thousands of job cuts and have failed to give any guarantee against compulsory redundancies."
Network Rail says it wants to modernise working practices, and use more technology to do some maintenance jobs. It estimates between 1,500 and 2,000 fewer staff would be needed, but insists this could be achieved through voluntary severance.
More from RMT general-secretary Mick Lynch now, who says the source of the impending rail strikes "is the Tory government's decision to slash £4bn of funding from our railway network".
"They've cut £2bn from the National Railway and they've cut £2bn from TfL (Transport for London)."
Lynch continued: "That is hobbling this industry, and it's forcing the companies to implement transport austerity and massive cuts to our system as we speak."
Image source, PA MediaWe have come to understand that the dead hand of this Tory government is all over this dispute, adds Lynch.
"The fingerprints of Grant Shapps, and the DNA of Rishi Sunak, are all over the problems on the railway and indeed the problems in this society," he says.
"And until they allow these employers to negotiate freely, I can't see that we're going to get a settlement to the issues that are in front of us."
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said negotiations should be between unions and employers, and the RMT is "determined to go on strike".
The RMT's General Secretary Mick Lynch says the union is "moving onto the next phase of the campaign".
He disputes the government's version of events, saying "we never walked out of any talks" and that workers "kept up cordial relationships" with their employers.
Image source, PA MediaThe RMT's Mick Lynch has confirmed the strikes this week will go ahead but thanks the public for what he calls "tremendous support from ordinary working people".
The rail network will effectively shut down on the strike days because staff from track workers to signallers will walk out.
Passengers have been advised not to travel on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June, with disruption on many lines:
Even on days when there isn't a strike, the industry says emergency timetables will be in place, so trains and crews are not in the wrong places when services end.
It's probably quite important to check out how you'll be affected on both strike and non-strike days by going here and following the links.
Image source, ReutersWorkers will go on strike on three days this week: Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June.
Members of the RMT working on London Underground are also due to strike tomorrow. While Tube drivers are not taking part, the RMT action means stations cannot open.
How many workers are taking part?
There are about 40,000 RMT members who work on the railways in jobs such as maintaining track and signals, station staff and signallers. Because they are taking action trains can't run - even though most drivers are members of a different union, Aslef, who are not on strike.
There also 10,000 RMT members in London Underground who will strike on Tuesday.
How widespread is the disruption?
It's expected that services will be affected right across Great Britain (Northern Ireland Railways are not involved). While operators hope to work to a special timetable, passengers are being advised not to travel.
The RMT Union says strikes will go ahead after last ditch talks failed to resolve a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
We'll bring you more on this as soon as we get it.
The RMT rail union is expected to make a statement on tomorrow's strike shortly.
Talks to avoid three days of strike action are continuing, with no deal to break the impasse as yet.
The statement is due at around 15.30 BST. Stay with us and we'll bring you the latest updates.
Image source, Getty ImagesA government plan to make it legal for employers to bring in agency staff to replace striking workers is not the "solution" to railway walkouts, says the head of the Transport Select Committee.
This is because the railways rely on skilled workers who require as much as 12 months' training, explains Conservative MP Huw Merriman.
But "the government will need to act" to ensure people can go about their day-to-day business, he tells BBC Radio 4's The World at One.
Merriman adds that he favours a policy that would oblige rail operators to provide "minimum service levels" - a Tory manifesto pledge under which a certain skeleton service on the railways would be guaranteed.
BBC Radio 5 Live listeners have been offering their views on the rail strikes - providing a range of opinions.
The RMT behaves like a dictatorship and members want their cake and eat it, says Simon in Bournemouth. "They want to increase salaries but maintain personnel. One or the other has got to give. They need to allow the redundancies to take place and then invest in the skills of the people that remain and then go further fully electric."
The unions want "nationalisation by stealth", says Drew in Motherwell. "I got a 2% salary increase this year after a couple of years of having nothing. That's what the general public are facing, small salary increases, you get something, you're lucky."
But Dom in Warrington says it is not the fault of strikers, rather a sign of the country being mismanaged. "The money is there, it's just been channelled off to millionaires and billionaires as anyone who owns shares in companies have dividends throughout the pandemic. It's not just the rail workers... there's reason why everyone feels like this."
London's Waterloo Station at the height of the Covid pandemic
A continuing feature of the UK's response to the Covid pandemic is that many more people are working from home, if they can, than before the virus struck.
This is both an argument for reforming the rail industry, as fewer people are travelling, and for those workers who can do their jobs from home it may help them avoid the impact of the strikes.
According to Google's mobility data, external, the number of journeys by public transport in London was still 26% down last week compared with pre-pandemic levels.
People are also still making fewer visits to workplaces in the capital - down by a third compared with early 2020.
It's a slightly improved picture in Edinburgh, with public transport use down by 17% compared with pre-pandemic times. But the figures for visits to workplaces are similar to London - still 34% less than they were in January-February 2020.
Cardiff is still seeing a significant reduction in how many journeys are made using public transport, including buses and trains, with 30% fewer trips last week compared with Google's baseline period of January-February 2020.
The Welsh capital has also experienced a marked decline in travel to workplaces - down 39% last week compared with pre-Covid times.
Image source, Getty ImagesA union had "no option" but to call a vote on strike action, as commuters in Wales and the rest of Britain face travel disruption on Tuesday.
Transport for Wales is not in dispute, but as Network Rail maintains the track there, Wales will be hit.
Steve Skelly of the RMT in Wales says it "had no other option but to ballot our members for industrial action" as it had none of the assurances it wanted from either the UK government or train companies.
He says that "for some of our members this has been the third year of a pay freeze".
Skelly says the union was still willing to negotiate and continue talks with the government and its employer, Network Rail, to resolve the dispute.
"There is no offer from the train operating companies in terms of a pay proposal and the offer that has been put forward to us on behalf of Network Rail is unacceptable," he adds.
Image source, Getty ImagesScotRail has said it will have to cancel 90% of its trains during three days of strike action by signal workers this week.
What impact will this have on businesses?
Alan Henderson owns ten hospitality outlets across Aberdeen and he tells BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live the strike is a body blow: "The impact is quite straightforward, hotel rooms will be cancelled B&Bs will be cancelled, less visitors will come to the north east and the north of Scotland, given that there is absolutely no trains heading north from the central belt.
"It's a real body blow to the industry which is just recovering from Covid."
Iain Watson
Political correspondent
The government will make it legal for employers to bring in agency staff to fill roles of striking workers. This will be done through secondary legislation which will be laid in Parliament later this week and is expected to come in to effect in mid-July.
The measure will repeal a regulation dating from 1973 which makes it illegal for employers to use agency staff specifically during industrial disputes to do the work of strikers. There will be a vote in Parliament.
A government source points out this isn't aimed specifically at the RMT - it is because "unions are threatening action across the economy" this summer.
Any employer - public sector as well as private, from schools to councils to the NHS - would have the "flexibility" to bring in outside staff. It would be an employer's choice whether to do so.
There is still no date for legislating on minimum service levels on the railways and other key industries.
Navtej Johal
Reporting from Nottingham Station
The sun is shining, the sky is blue and lots of people here are on their way to holidays or coming back looking tanned. But there’s also plenty of frustration.
The word that I’ve heard more than any other from passengers is “annoying” - that’s how they feel about the disruption they’re facing over the next few days.
A common complaint I’ve heard is: I’ve had to come home early from my trip because of the strikes.
Chloe Pitts, 21, from Bristol, at Nottingham Station today
One student I was speaking to was on her way to Amsterdam - she had to cancel her Eurostar ticket for tomorrow and fly there today instead to ensure she made her trip.
There is some sympathy too - most of the people I’ve spoken to have been quite diplomatic.
They say they understand where the strikers are coming from, but one woman on her way back home to Skegness early from a trip did say that everyone was struggling financially and didn’t believe they should be striking.
This station is operated by East Midlands Railway. They’re saying that on strike days - that’s tomorrow, Thursday and Saturday - services will be reduced by around 70%.
Trish Stephens, 73, from Skegness, doesn't support the rail strike
What does that actually mean?
Well, if you want to travel from Nottingham to the east - to Lincoln or Norwich. There will be no train and no rail replacement bus to take you there from this station.
There will only be half the trains going to London as there are normally.
The first train will leave here at 7:30am, the last one at 6:30pm, so much shorter windows in which to travel. And advice is to seek alternative forms of transport.
We've now heard from the prime minister's official spokesman, who says it will be "extremely difficult" for those who have to come into work tomorrow.
"I think the public will understandably want to know why they are being put in this position... We believe we are seeking to offer a fair and reasonable pay rise and modernise the railway services for the long term, and we need to get rid of some of these outdated rules and procedures, some of which have not been updated for decades and which don't serve the public," the spokesman says.
"Talks are continuing today but the government won't be taking part in them," the spokesman adds.
"You've heard from train operators themselves who have said that it isn't the government's place to be at the table and it wouldn't be helpful to the ongoing discussions to insert the government into the negotiating process at this stage."
Image source, ReutersAssistant General Secretary John Leach of the RMT spoke to the BBC earlier. He said strike action is an "absolute last resort".
So what is the minimum the RMT would accept to call off the strike? He says the union wants a "proper pay rise" and "assurances around job security".
He says the RMT hadn't named a figure for a pay rise publicly because "we're serious negotiators", but "the cost of living crisis is with us, the government's own statistics tell us inflation is at 11% and we want to get a fair deal for our members".
He said many train operating companies hadn't made an offer on pay, and Network Rail had offered 2%. "That is not acceptable seeing as we've come out of the pandemic and not had a pay rise for two to three years," he said.
Leach says the union accepts that restructuring is necessary, "but we've got to have an assurance that the people who are working there today won't come out of that worse off than they went in".
Asked about the government's view that the rail industry is currently not economically sustainable, he said the industry is able to produce £500m worth of profit for privately-owned companies and needs "to find a way to balance the books in an efficient and proper way".
He said job security was important because "we've just been through hell and back" on sackings at P&O Ferries, and he said companies in the rail industry had been warning of "something similar" because of government requests for savings.
"We need to assert that people need to be treated properly and people are not a commodity... people matter," he adds.