Plans to keep passengers moving and shelves stocked as rail strike looms

theguardian.com:

Contingency plans are being drawn up to try to keep passenger and freight trains running and prevent empty supermarket shelves after unions warned of “potentially the biggest rail strike in modern history”.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) is balloting 40,000 members on the industrial action, which network sources have reportedly said would create “serious challenges” in keeping goods moving and supermarket shelves stocked.

The vote, which is scheduled to close on Tuesday, includes staff on Network Rail and 15 train operating companies. The RMT said the action was being taken over pay, compulsory redundancies and safety concerns.

The Times has reported that plans under consideration include giving freight trains priority over passenger services. It also refers to senior rail insiders saying there could be times when the tracks were reserved for goods only.

A source quoted by the paper said: “There is an awful lot of work going on behind the scenes including around what the timetable might look like. One option is times of the day when only freight services operate.”

Switching goods from rail to roads is not a solution given the shortage of HGV drivers.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, will meet the prime minister and chancellor next week to discuss the threat as fears grown in Whitehall that the action could be worse than the junior doctors’ walkout in 2015, the paper adds.

The RMT has also said it intends to ballot members in Scotland for strike action after what it describes as a derisory 2.2% pay offer and proposed timetable changes that it called a “kick in the teeth” to workers.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association union has warned of summer disruption unless pay disputes are