Train passengers across the country were forced to stay home after warnings to avoid all but basic travel, with only one-fifth of main-line trains expected to run and many lines to close completely. With only skeletal services being performed for passengers in London and other cities, there were no trains on large sections of the network during rush hour. The prime minister called on “union barons to sit down with the Network Rail and train companies” to agree on reforms such as the phasing out of ticket offices. Members of the RMT union have resigned over wage disputes, work practices and possible layoffs, including 40,000 network Rail infrastructure owners and staff at 13 train companies. More strikes are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday. London Underground staff also went on strike for one day on Tuesday. The RMT leadership is pushing for wage increases of 7 to 8 percent to offset inflation that is expected to reach 11 percent this year. However, Johnson called for a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discipline wages to reduce inflationary pressures, and argued that modernizing the railways was necessary. “I say this to the country as a whole: we must prepare to stay on track,” he added. “These improvements in the way our railways operate are in the interest of the traveling public. . . “If we do not do this, these big companies, this big industry, will face further financial pressure, it will collapse.” Passengers at Waterloo Station on the first day of the national rail strike on Tuesday, when London Underground staff also went on strike © Henry Nicholls / Reuters There is uncertainty about when the formal negotiations for the end of the strike will resume. Network Rail hopes to resume talks on Wednesday and its chief negotiator visited an RMT picket line on Tuesday morning, but the union said while it was open to talks, it had not received a formal invitation. Mick Lynch, head of the rail union, said RMT “has no choice but to defend our members”. He accused the government of “blocking” the railway industry’s wage bids and used the pandemic as an excuse to impose “austerity on transport”, including the closure of all ticket offices. The train drivers are members of a different union and are not on strike, while the industry has called in managers and other front-line staff to work on platforms and signal boxes. The train will be closed until 6.30 pm, with the last trains between London and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh departing before 16:00. The disruption is likely to continue in the days leading up to the official strikes, especially in the morning, as trains will be out of order on their scheduled routes. Mick Lynch, head of RMT, said the union had “no choice” but to go on strike © Stefan Rousseau / PA Andrew Haines, managing director of Network Rail, said he deeply regretted the passengers for the interruption, but blamed RMT for its refusal to compromise, including on “archaic” work practices. He said Network Rail had written to RMT threatening “less than 2,000” redundancies, but that he hoped they could be voluntary. Haines added that ministers agreed that Network Rail could exceed the public sector pay ceiling and offer an increase of more than 3 percent due to the huge margin for productivity gains in the industry. While the government has refused to negotiate directly with the RMT, ministers are in fact controlling the industry’s finances. The Network Rail is state-owned, while the Ministry of Transport sets annual budgets for services performed by private companies operating trains under the changes of the coronavirus pandemic season. Business leaders have warned that the strikes will hit the sectors that have just recovered from the financial impact of Covid-19. UKHospitality estimated that the strike would cost the industry 5 540-1 billion, as thousands of people could not travel across the country, damaging bars, hotels, clubs, theaters and restaurants. “This week, we see people canceling events, but they do not feel comfortable reserving them because they are not sure when the next strikes will come,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the hospitality industry group.

He said the strike could “inflict a fatal financial blow on those companies that are already struggling to survive”. The strike means more people are likely to stay home during the week than at any other time since the last pandemic lockdown, sending another blow to businesses in city centers. “I am grateful that the trains kept the pandemic running, but we all came to work. “We pay a lot of money – £ 150 a week – to go up and down and we need better service,” said John Brett, a construction manager who lives in Brighton and travels daily to London through the pandemic. However, adapting to remote work due to Covid means that industrial activity is unlikely to be as annoying as previous vacations. The number of passengers on the UK railways has recovered to around 80% of pre-pandemic levels this month, but railway officials say many longer commuters have stayed away. Freight services will be a priority during the week, but UK supply chains will come under renewed pressure. Between 30 and 40 percent fewer loads are expected to travel by train all week, and strikes will “add additional risk to already fragile supply chains,” said Maggie Simpson, head of the Rail Freight Group. Priority will be given to supplies to power stations and supermarkets, but Simpson said the flow of construction materials – 40% of which is carried by train – could be disrupted.