April 30, 2012 1.12 pm This story is over 143 months old

Lincoln affected by East Midlands Trains strike

Service strike: A number of routes in the county will be affected by a train drivers’ strike.

Several East Midlands Train services from Lincoln Central Station will be affected by upcoming industrial action.

Strike action is expected to take place on May 1 and 3, and will mean a number of trains will not be running.

Service affected are Nottingham to Lincoln, Lincoln to Sleaford, Lincoln to Grimsby and Skegness to Lincoln.

Replacement services will be put on for travellers and a number of other service operators will accept East Midlands tickets.

Alternative routes can be found on the East Midlands website.

Stagecoach will also provide a service for travellers going to and from Skegness and Grimsby.

These rules also apply to people with pre-ordered tickets, plus permission to travel the day before and after the ticket dates.

Full refunds will also be provided.

The action follows confirmation from East Midlands Trains that pension contributions for employees will be reduced from July.

Train drivers from the ASLEF union voted in favour of the strike action, taking place on May 8, 10, 15 and 17.

David Horne, Managing Director for East Midlands Trains, said: “Pension contributions made by our employees will reduce from July this year.

“This is good news for our staff and will have no impact on their pension benefits. It follows recommendations from a recent pension valuation, which is an independent financial health check on the scheme. We have written to our employees to explain the forthcoming changes and the background.

“It makes ASLEF’s stance difficult to understand and we are surprised that our train drivers are planning to take industrial action over this matter.

“We cannot see how ASLEF’s demands, to continue with higher pension contributions when they are not required, are in the best interests of their members.

“It really is good news for our people that the joint contributions are reducing for all of our employees, and for drivers this will save them around £500 a year.

“Industrial action would mean employees unnecessarily being even more out of pocket.

“Our offer of further talks remains open to ASLEF.”

For more information on the strikes and line affected, visit East Midlands Trains.