Five-day strike by train drivers at LNER next month on top of a rolling programme of national walkouts has been called off

The union announced a further five days of strikes against LNER from February 5Walkouts from Wednesday 7 until Saturday 10 February will go ahead as planned

The train drivers’ union Aslef has called off next month’s five days of strikes, on top of a rolling programme of national walkouts, at LNER.

Members of Aslef are launching a series of strikes and an overtime ban from January 29 in the long-running dispute over pay.

The union announced a further five days of strikes against LNER from February 5 in response to the threat of minimum service levels being imposed at the state-run London-Scotland service.

It is understood Aslef have now called off the five-day walkout, amid the upcoming strikes, after the train company withdrew its demand to implement the regulation.

A source from the union told the MailOnline: ‘The government’s MSL (minimum service level) programme is in disarray because not one of the train companies wants to impose it’.

The strike was originally announced in response to the threat of minimum service levels being imposed at the state-run London-Scotland service

Members of Aslef are launching a series of strikes and an overtime ban from January 29 in the long-running dispute over pay

The new law is aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service is available during strikes, set at 40 per cent in the railway industry.

Unions have warned the regulations are unworkable and potentially dangerous if passengers believe a certain number of trains will run.

None of the train companies affected by the new strikes have said they will implement the regulations.

Ministers have said the way in which the rules are implemented will be down to train operators.

It is understood that the government expects that the new legislation will be used to curb strike action after train firms privately lobbied the government.

Mick Whelan (pictured: centre), general secretary of ASLEF, said LNER management and their government counterparts made no realistic offer to Aslef members

One government source told the Guardian: ‘The train companies lobbied us for this ahead of the 2019 manifesto and they’ve got what they wanted so we would very much hope that they would use those powers.

‘We aren’t going to grandstand and publicly urge them to do it but we quietly expect them to do so.’

However, a senior source from LNER told the paper that the operator had a ‘cat in hell’s chance’ of implementing the rules, with the legislation potentially worsening the reliability of train service.

Unions in other sectors affected by the new law have also warned they are unwarranted and unworkable.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said: ‘We have given LNER management – and their government counterparts who hold the purse strings – every opportunity to come to the table and they have so far made no realistic offer to our members.

Walkouts from Wednesday 7 until Saturday 10 February are expected to go ahead, with drivers refusing to work any non-contractual overtime

‘We have not heard from the Transport Secretary since December 2022, or from the train operating companies since April 2023.

‘It’s time for them to come to the table and work with us to resolve this dispute so we can all move forward and get our railway back on track.’

A spokesperson from the Rail Delivery Group told the MailOnline: ‘Train companies are working through plans to manage the unnecessary disruption to our passengers caused by this damaging industrial action – minimum service levels are one potential tool for that but they are not a silver bullet.

‘In the meantime we remain committed to resolving this dispute and our offer, which would take average driver salaries to £65,000 for a four-day week without overtime, remains on the table.’

Walkouts at LNER from Wednesday 7 until Saturday 10 February are expected to go ahead,  with drivers refusing to work any non-contractual overtime.

A series of strikes by Alsef members are expected to cause chaos across the country between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February 2024.

A strike on Tuesday 30 January will affect Southeastern, GTR Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, SWR Island Line and South Western Railway servies.

Northern Trains and Transpennine Trains will be affected by strikes on Wednesday 31 January.

Passengers using Greater Anglia, C2C and LNER will see disruption to services on Friday 2 February, as well as West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway on Saturday 3 February, and at Great Western, CrossCountry and Chiltern on Monday 5 February.

The drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Monday 29 January until Tuesday 6 February.

Mr Whelan said: ‘We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.

‘Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living.

‘Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as keyworkers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.

A series of strikes by Alsef members are expected to cause chaos across the country between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February 2024

‘The government has now tried their old trick of changing the rules when they can’t win and brought in Minimum Service Levels legislation.

‘But this new law, as we told officials during the consultation period, won’t ease industrial strife. It will likely just make it worse.

‘There’s no excuse. The government and train operating companies must come to the table with a realistic offer so we can end this dispute and work together to ensure the future of our railways.’

An LNER spokesperson said: ‘We welcome news that the threat of extended disruption to our services has been lifted.

‘We encourage ASLEF to work with us to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.’

The MailOnline has approached the Department for Transport for comment.