This is the second major strike day of the week, which could be followed by a third Saturday.

Only one in five trains will run and the lines will only be open between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., a shorter time slot than usual.

Faced with this historic mobilization, the government announced Thursday its intention to modify the law to allow the use of temporary workers to replace the strikers and reduce the impact which it considers "disproportionate" of the strikes.

Subject to parliamentary approval, these changes are expected to come into force in the coming weeks and will apply to England, Scotland and Wales.

For Transport Minister Grant Shapps, this reform is "vital" and "will ensure that any future strike will cause less disruption and allow adaptable, flexible and qualified staff to continue to work".

The government also announced that it was increasing the maximum damages that the courts can impose on a union, when the strike has been found to be illegal.

For the largest unions, the maximum compensation will increase from 250,000 pounds sterling to 1 million (1.16 million euros).

The transport union RMT, which is calling for a strike, is asking for wage increases in line with inflation, but also denounces the prospect of "thousands of layoffs" and the deterioration of working conditions.

A Network Rail spokesman said he was "disappointed" at the breakdown of negotiations and called the strike "unnecessary and premature".

This public manager of the railway network called on travelers to take the train only if necessary.

The TSSA union indicated for its part on Wednesday that its members at Merseyrail, one of the many private rail operators, had accepted an offer of a 7.1% wage increase, putting a little more pressure on the negotiations between RMT and the employers.

“Wage increases are possible and fully justified,” the union tweeted on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson deemed the strike "bad and unnecessary" and called on the "union barons" to sit down at the negotiating table and the sector to agree to modernize to avoid bankruptcies.

The Conservative leader also recalled that the British government had supported the sector during the pandemic to the tune of 16 billion pounds.

© 2022 AFP