Arriva court plan to prevent Six Nations rail strike

The planned Arriva Trains Wales drivers strike falls on the Wales rugby teams play England in Cardiff

Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) is considering court action to prevent the rail strike planned on the opening day of the Six Nations rugby tournament.

The strike over pay is due next Friday when Wales host England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Wales rugby fans have said they expect travel chaos in Cardiff city centre on the night of the game.

Rail union RMT said the pay offer was unacceptable and would leave members with an effective pay cut.

ATW, which operates trains across Wales, confirmed it may seek a court injunction to stop the industrial action by members of RMT.

It said the strike would cause disruption and inconvenience for many thousands of rail passengers and rugby fans.

The train operator has said its offer of a 12% pay increase over two years, taking a driver's basic salary to £39,117, was "very generous".

The RMT disputes the 12% figure, saying the rise for this year is actually 3.7%, and claims it is an effective pay cut.

A union spokesperson said: "Our dispute is not with the rugby fans of Wales or England, our dispute is with ATW.

"We decide on our tactics to force the issue with the company. We have to look at all the options.

"It's forced the company to take this issue seriously. We're not doing this to disrupt people who are going to the rugby."

An estimated 32,000 fans usually use ATW's services on match days, forcing many supporters to make other arrangements.

Pontypridd RFC finance director Peter Howells said: "We've almost filled one coach and we're looking at getting another one.

"We would normally run one coach but because of the increased demand, we're in the process of organising another."

Wales rugby fan Dave Evans, from Cardiff, said: "The fans are presumably going to try to come down by car.

"That's going to cause chaos in the centre of Cardiff - that's the point of the strike but that doesn't help the fans."

Talks between the union and the train operator are expected to take place on Monday.

Transport Ieuan Wyn Jones has called on both sides to negotiate.

ATW employs 617 drivers of which 129 are in the RMT, with the remainder in the Aslef union. ATW does not expect the other drivers to cross the picket line.