South West largely cut off by rail

No trains west of Newton Abbot

Rail strikes are once again affecting train services in Devon and Cornwall.

Unions are protesting in a campaign for higher pay, fewer job cuts and better working conditions.

With inflation this week surpassing 10 per cent and the cost of living crisis causing widespread concern, the striking workers seem to have more public sympathy than they have had for previous walkouts. 

Natalie Feeley, who is an organiser for the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TESSA) was on the picket line at Exeter St David's on Thursday. She said: "The cost of living is making it so much harder to pay bills. We haven't had a pay rise for over three years...During the whole pandemic, we worked every day and were labelled 'key workers' back then."

The government wants union bosses to put their pay offer to their members, something the unions have so far refused.

Ms Feeley has a different opinion. She said: "The government are making it hard to negotiate pay with TSSA members who work for the train operators and Network Rail."

The disruption in Devon and Cornwall on a Saturday of the school summer holidays will be significant. Families who had travelled on an earlier weekend expecting to go home by train today will have serious problems.

No trains at all will run on Saturday in Cornwall; all branch services in Exeter are cancelled, but there is a reduced mainline service on the London Paddington line to Exeter St David's, where passengers can change for Newton Abbot.

Additional reporting by Josh Tate.