Large parts of national rail network grind to halt as RMT union members strike for increased pay

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There is similar pessimism about the prospects for a deal to prevent later rail strikes from the other side of the table.

Asked if there is a glimmer of hope in the negotiations, Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines earlier this morning told BBC Breakfast (via PA Media):

It’s hard to see that today. I’ve learned, you know, through a long career, that sometimes the light is just around the corner.

But where I stand today, I’d have to say that with the level of disruption the RMT are imposing, the way forward isn’t obvious.

Well, we hope not. We want to get a deal but at the moment, there is no deal in sight.

So we’ve got the schedule down at the moment, which is running for the next four weeks. We will review that at the end of that if there’s no settlement on the table and we’ll decide what our next steps are, but at the moment there is no settlement to be had.