AFTER a break down in talks on Friday, First Great Western (FGW) rail workers went ahead with the first in a series of planned strikes over the weekend.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, including drivers and guards, walked out for 24 hours on Sunday and plan to do so again for 72 hours from Saturday over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Other union members who work on maintenance will strike on August 29 and 31.
FGW and the RMT were due to meet again on Monday in a bid to avert strike action.
The union is in dispute over the introduction of new Hitachi inter-city trains, saying the role of guards will be reduced and buffet car facilities removed.
Mark Hopwood, FGW managing director, said: “These brand new trains will deliver more seats, faster journey times and more frequent journeys for our passengers. Our plans mean more train managers on board our trains, not less.
The key issues remains, that we want the driver to close the doors, which is fundamental to our ability to run the faster, more frequent services customers should expect from a 21st century railway.
"This method has been used safely across the UK rail industry for decades.”
FGW expects to run the majority of its London Thames Valley services, but long-distance and local services will be reduced should the planned Bank Holiday strike action go ahead.
Customers should check before they travel at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/strike
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