Travellers hit by driver shortage

First Capital Connect train The union says FCC has been running on "goodwill"

Travellers have faced long delays after a driver shortage led to the cancellation of an entire rail route into London's Kings Cross station.

First Capital Connect (FCC), which runs the Great Northern service, confirmed that not enough staff had volunteered to work overtime.

FCC said it was offering free parking and running bus replacement services to ease travel.

Union leaders denied they had orchestrated an unofficial strike.

FCC is the second company this year to be hit by a train driver shortage.

Pay talks

BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds pointed out that the train driver's union Aslef is currently in pay talks with their employer and has already rejected two offers.

The union said the company had been running its weekend service recently on what it called "a lot of goodwill".

First Capital Connect (FCC) needs around 80 drivers to run the Great Northern service from Peterborough and King's Lynn.

But as is normal in the rail industry, the weekend shifts are staffed voluntarily by drivers willing to work overtime.

We regret any inconvenience this disruption will cause
First Capital Connect statement

This weekend, just a handful have offered.

The company's other service, Thameslink, has also been affected by the work-to-rule.

FCC said it strongly advised against travelling by rail unless absolutely necessary, and added that tickets would be accepted on alternative bus and rail routes in areas including London's Liverpool Street and King's Cross, King's Lynn, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Bedford, Hitchin, Stevenage, Luton Airport and Peterborough.

In a statement, FCC said: "We are continuing to work towards a resolution to these problems and to provide alternative transport where possible and will post any updates on our website.

"We regret any inconvenience this disruption will cause."

FCC, which employs around 600 drivers, said it was disappointed that there would be hardly any Great Northern trains on Remembrance Sunday.

It said it had contacted local officials of the Royal British Legion to warn them of disruption.

A similar refusal to work weekends in September caused disruption to another train company, London Midland.

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SEE ALSO Driver shortage to disrupt trains
06 Nov 09 | England Driver shortage disrupting trains
05 Nov 09 | England Inquiry call over Sunday services
05 Sep 09 | England No Sunday London Midland trains
03 Sep 09 | England Rail travellers face disruption
12 Aug 07 | West Midlands
RELATED INTERNET LINKS (External) First Capital Connect (External) Aslef (External) National Rail Enquiries The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

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