Metro disruption continues as industrial action reaches third day

Have you been affected by the industrial action on the Metro?

Peak trains have been affected by the action which has led to gaps in the service network during morning rush hour.

The action is being taken by the ASLEF and RMT unions started on Sunday, December 1 and comes after drivers in the two unions decided to shun a 15% pay rise offer.

However, Aslef has said its 50-strong members working for the Metro are calling for the same level of pay they could get for another operator and as a result the unions have withdrawn overtime.

This means Metro train crew are not working any additional paid voluntary shifts.

Today, Tuesday, December 3, the Metro is running an ‘amber service’ which means that there are gaps affecting a number of peak train services across the network.

Both the 8.41am Monkseaton - Pelaw and the 9.26am Pelaw - South Gosforth are due to be affected by the action.

Nexus says runs Metro as a public service without profit – all the money it receives in fares go towards the cost of operating, including employee wages.

It says it cannot afford to go beyond the offer it has made.

In a statement, Nexus – the operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro – said: “This is not the same as a strike, which would see train crew refusing to work at all, because most will still be coming in to complete rostered shifts.

"It will mean that some trains will be cancelled because there will be no train crew to operate them.

“There will be less frequent services and busier trains, but Metro will still be running to all destinations.

“We will forecast the level of service we anticipate being able to run each day and publish it in advance the help passengers to plan.”

Passengers can keep up to date at nexus.org.uk and by following our daily updates on the Metro Twitter account: @My_Metro.

Each day Nexus will publish details of the following day’s expected service level on www.nexus.org.uk