Harborough railway station was deserted today (Tuesday) as the biggest rail worker strikes for generations were launched this morning

Market Harborough railway station was deserted today (Tuesday) as the biggest rail worker strikes for generations were launched this morning.

The busy station looked more like a ghost town as thousands of travellers will be hit by three days of devastating national walk-outs this week.

Railway staff belonging to the RMT union and working for 13 major operators are set to down tools all over the country today, on Thursday (June 23) and on Saturday (June 25).

Thousands of workers are acting as they step up their bitter battle for a pay hike.

Commuters are being urged not to travel on the three days of action this week unless they absolutely have to.

The high-profile walk-outs will also have a shattering knock-on impact on local and national rail services tomorrow and on Friday and Sunday as well with trains and crews out of position.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) is battling to provide a sharply-reduced level of service as they are left with just a skeleton workforce.

“EMR has been working on contingency plans to provide as many services as possible.

“But the opening hours of the railway and the number of services will be significantly reduced,” said the rail operator.

“Customers are asked to only travel by train if absolutely necessary.

“If customers are travelling, they are asked to plan ahead and leave extra time for their journey.

“This includes the days between strikes as EMR expects the knock-on effects of the strikes to impact services on the following days - particularly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday,” said an EMR spokeswoman.

She said that trains will run between 7.30am and 6.30pm only on the three days being targeted by workers.

There will only be one Intercity train an hour between Nottingham and London St Pancras, affecting Market Harborough, today, Thursday and Saturday.

And just one service an hour will be operating between Sheffield and London along with a single train every hour from Corby to London.

“Since the announcement of the ballot, EMR have been working with colleagues across the railway to ensure they can deliver a robust and reliable service for their customers.

“A significant pool of contingency staff have been trained (to the same safety critical standards as their permanent colleagues) to ensure a service can continue to operate,” said the EMR spokeswoman.

“However, it will not be possible to continue to operate the same level of service as EMR would normally.

“Network Rail are also affected by strike action and therefore their ability to operate the infrastructure is also significantly reduced.

“This includes maintenance staff who renew and repair the infrastructure as well as colleagues working in control and signalling roles who ensure the safe operation of the railway.”

Will Rogers, EMR’s Managing Director, said: “We are extremely disappointed the RMT have decided to strike on the 21, 23 and 25 June.

“This is the wrong decision for the railway and communities we serve.

“There will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services on strike days and other lines will have a reduced level of service,” added Mr Rogers.

“I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”

For more information, including timetables, advice on refunds and ticket exchanges and answers to the most asked questions, please visit: eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk