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| Strike threatened at rail company | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Hundreds of guards and drivers at rail operator First Great Western have voted to go on strike, a union has said. | Hundreds of guards and drivers at rail operator First Great Western have voted to go on strike, a union has said. |
| The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said relations had broken down and its executive will consider whether to call strikes over the dispute. | The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said relations had broken down and its executive will consider whether to call strikes over the dispute. |
| Part of the union's concerns are about whether managers have received enough training to drive and guard trains. | Part of the union's concerns are about whether managers have received enough training to drive and guard trains. |
| First Great Western (FGW) had previously said it was working with the unions to resolve issues. | |
| A full statement is expected later. | A full statement is expected later. |
| Services criticised | |
| The train company runs services to and from London's Paddington Station to the West Country and South West of England, carrying some 60,000 passengers every day. | |
| "RMT members have today made quite clear what they think of First Great Western's confrontational style of management," said the RMT's general secretary Bob Crow. | |
| "The votes reflect the anger that our members feel at the company's behaviour, and if it wants to avoid industrial action it should begin to deal sensibly with the range of issues involved and stop the routine use of managers to guard and drive trains." | "The votes reflect the anger that our members feel at the company's behaviour, and if it wants to avoid industrial action it should begin to deal sensibly with the range of issues involved and stop the routine use of managers to guard and drive trains." |
| FGW recently increased its unregulated fares by about 6%, saying its costs had gone up and it needed the money for investment. | |
| But its service levels have been criticised recently, with watchdog London TravelWatch calling for the company to be stripped of its franchise. | |
| Last year, about 2,000 passengers refused to pay their fares for a day between Bristol and Bath in protest at the state of services. | |
| And complaints about a revamped timetable and overcrowding were also reported. | |
| A passenger group is due to meet soon to discuss a possible boycott of services. |