Avanti West Coast unofficial strike action claims rejected by union

Avanti West Coast operates services on the West Coast mainline

A train operator has been criticised by a union for blaming "unofficial strike action" for disruption to its services.

Avanti West Coast said its services were subject to last-minute cancellations until further notice and said it condemned the drivers' actions.

Union Aslef said there was "no strike action - official or unofficial - by train drivers" and said the firm had simply not employed enough drivers.

Some 5,000 union members took planned strike action for 24 hours on Saturday.

There was a planned strike on Saturday but Aslef has denied allegations of unofficial action

More strikes are planned in August by Aslef and the RMT union in the row over pay, jobs and conditions, however Aslef train drivers' union said it was "categorically untrue" to suggest there was ongoing unofficial industrial action.

"The truth is the company [Avanti West Coast] does not employ enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised," a spokesperson said.

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Avanti said normally 250 journeys a week are staffed by drivers working overtime, however suddenly staffing had dropped to levels that would cover under 10 trips.

Drivers at a number of train companies, including Avanti, often work rest days which Aslef said operators depend on.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has waded into the row, posting on Twitter that "archaic rules... mean working on rest days is voluntary" and called for modernisation.

Operators such as West Midlands Trains have previously spoken about pressures on staffing, particularly after the pandemic delayed new drivers' training, which typically takes more than a year.

A spokesperson for Avanti said starting from Monday, last-minute cancellations were likely to continue until the industrial dispute had been settled and it urged customers to check their journeys in advance.

The company runs services from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh, with routes to Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales and Birmingham.

"We are sorry for the enormous frustration and inconvenience this will cause our customers and condemn the drivers' actions."