Strike action severely disrupts Stamford and Rutland's railways
The RMT's holding a one-day walk out over job and pay conditions
More strike action will severely impact Stamford and Rutland's railways today (Wednesday 27th).
No trains will run at all via Oakham Station, East Midlands Rail's James Coxon says:
'Unfortunately like other train operating companies we won't be able to run any services to Oakham on Wednesday, this is due to the fact that Network Rail are also affected by strike action.
'Network Rail operate the control centres and the smaller signal boxes and without them in operation, certain lines simply cannot be run safely and unfortunately Oakham is one of those lines.'
The one-day walk out from Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) members comes soon after week-long strikes last month, but the reason remains the same - workers want better job, pay and working conditions.
Members of train drivers union Aslef will also hold a strike of their own on Saturday 30 July.
Customers and commuters are being advised to only travel if necessary, and to check ahead that their intended trains are running on the National Rail website.
The RMT have announced that further strikes will go ahead on Thursday 18 August and Saturday 20 August, which are also being co-ordinated across Network Rail and other train operating companies.
No agreement made
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new.
"In fact Network Rail have upped the ante, threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50% cuts to maintenance work if we did not withdraw our planned strike action.
"RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone."
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: "Despite our best efforts to find a breakthrough, I'm afraid there will be more disruption for passengers this week as the RMT seems hell-bent on continuing their political campaigning, rather than compromising and agreeing a deal for their members.
"I can only apologise for the impact this pointless strike will have on passengers, especially those travelling for holidays or attending events such as the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 semi-final (Wednesday) and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games (Thursday).
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "It's now clearer than ever that the RMT has no interest in engaging in constructive discussions and is hell-bent on creating further misery for passengers across the UK.
"The rail industry has to modernise and be brought into the 21st century for the benefit of passengers and staff.
"We're extremely disappointed to see that instead of staying at the table, RMT executives have chosen to walk away once more.
"We continue to encourage RMT to do the right thing by their members and passengers alike and call off the strikes."