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First Great Western strike action enters second day First Great Western strike ends but delays continue
(about 5 hours later)
Commuters are again facing disruption on First Great Western (FGW) trains, as a 48-hour strike enters its second day. A 48-hour strike on First Great Western (FGW) trains has officially ended but delays are expected to continue.
A limited high-speed service between London, the West of England and Wales was in place for the morning rush hour. High-speed services between London, the West of England and Wales were limited on Friday, after RMT union members walked out on Wednesday.
The dispute, which began on Wednesday, is over concerns guards and buffet cars will be disposed of on FGW's new fleet of Hitachi Inter City Express trains. They fear guards and buffet cars will be disposed of on FGW's new fleet of Hitachi Inter City Express trains.
A separate 24-hour stoppage on London Underground ended on Thursday night. The union said the support had been "rock solid". FGW believe services will be back to normal by Saturday morning.
It said two thirds of services had been running during the strike.
Elsewhere in the country, Southern Railway engineers have suspended a five-day strike planned to begin on Sunday.Elsewhere in the country, Southern Railway engineers have suspended a five-day strike planned to begin on Sunday.
Click here for the latest on the first Great Western strike
According to the RMT union, about 2,000 members of staff are on strike across the FGW network.
'Determined to talk''Determined to talk'
The union described its strike campaign as "rock solid" and said: "The message from FGW staff has rung out loud and clear and it is now down to the company to get back round the table and give us the very basic assurances on jobs, services and safety that RMT has been calling for". According to the RMT union, about 2,000 members of staff went on strike across the FGW network.
FGW said despite a revised timetable and warnings of much busier trains, more than 60% of services operated as normal on Thursday. A spokesman said: "The message from FGW staff has rung out loud and clear and it is now down to the company to get back round the table and give us the very basic assurances on jobs, services and safety that RMT has been calling for."
A spokesman said: "We had more people turn in for work than expected yesterday, which increased the number of people available for us to run trains by around 10%. FGW said, despite a revised timetable and warnings of much busier trains, more than 60% of services operated as normal on Thursday.
"This allowed us to run trains on top of the planned timetable, and we expect to be able to do the same today." The company advised people travelling on its services on Friday to check times for last trains as they will be "significantly earlier than usual".
In an open letter to passengers, FGW managing director Mark Hopwood said he was "determined to continue talking to the RMT to try and find a way to resolve this matter."In an open letter to passengers, FGW managing director Mark Hopwood said he was "determined to continue talking to the RMT to try and find a way to resolve this matter."
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Our pickets have reported strong public support for this action as the people who use these routes know only too well what profiteering and cuts mean in terms of ‎their safety and the quality of service."
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin described the strike as "unnecessary" and said it "threatens massive disruption and benefits no-one".Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin described the strike as "unnecessary" and said it "threatens massive disruption and benefits no-one".
"I urge the strikers to work with FGW to resolve these issues and get back to work," he said.
Many stations and trains were less busy than usual on Friday morning, with some passengers choosing to stay at home rather than attempt to travel.Many stations and trains were less busy than usual on Friday morning, with some passengers choosing to stay at home rather than attempt to travel.
First Great Western warned it may take some time before services were running normally again, even after the strike ends at 18:30. Meanwhile another union has said it will ballot its 300 members at FGW on "action short of a strike". The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association accused the company of taking a "high handed" approach to managers during this week's walkout.
A spokesman said trains were likely to be affected until Saturday morning. The company said the "ballot of a small minority of our managers" was "not expected to have an impact on passengers".