Train strikes: Commuters stuck in the middle, praying for a breakthrough

The RMT union rejected an offer to prevent Christmas walkouts on the railways

A Christmas of discontent on the railways is almost upon us.

Put another way - lots of us are likely to have festive plans ruined, spend long, miserable hours taking diversions or on buses, and face chaos trying go about our daily lives.

Sadly, it will not end there.

Right now, our railway network is broken and, it seems, there is little chance of much changing any time soon. It feels as though we are in this mess for the long term.

The government, the train companies and the unions are entrenched.

People are facing several days of rail strikes in the run-up to and during the Christmas period

Perhaps if there were just one issue at the heart of this struggle there would be some hope of a breakthrough.

But on top of the issue of pay, unions and rail companies are at war about a number of fundamental changes to the industry.

The single issue of driver-only trains - on which the role guards is done away with - caused 18 months of strikes on the Southern network.

These services are fairly common on many metro services in London already, but introducing them in other parts of the country is another matter altogether.

Similarly, removing ticket offices - as has been done on the Underground - also caused disputes and strikes.

Certainly, history tells us such these issues are not resolved easily, and ongoing disputes like this are likely to create a long road to a long-term resolution.

• Extra rail strike planned on Christmas Eve

• Union told not to hold the country to ransom

• RMT union rejects offer to stop Christmas rail strikes

My hunch is that these changes will be introduced regardless, which will shatter industrial relations for some time.

So what happens in the meantime? Perhaps travellers will grow to rely on other modes of transport, adapt their lifestyles.

Businesses already reeling from a cost-of-living crisis will also suffer. One restaurateur recently told me he had lost 40% of his Christmas party bookings due to the rail strikes.

So whose fault is it? Well, no one player can be blamed for this mess.

The government, the trade unions and the industry itself must all take some responsibility.

General secretary of the RMT Mick Lynch joined striking workers on a picket line in London recently

Meanwhile, we, the innocent commuters, find ourselves stuck in the middle of this, hoping, praying that a compromise can be reached.

Unfortunately, at the moment that seems a like long shot.

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