Tram engineers and fitters working for Transport for London are set to strike from 20.00 on 5 May to 06.00 on 9 May, after talks over pay differentials had broken down. The two sides have clashed over allegations of ‘bad faith’ made by the engineers’ union Unite, which TfL denies. TfL is advising its passengers to walk, cycle or use buses or the Overground on strike days, when no tram services are expected before 07.00 or after 18.00.

More than 800 railway improvement projects are planned by Network Rail during the two bank holidays in May, when a total of £135 million will be invested. Most of the work takes the form of ‘normal’ weekend engineering overnight, when few passenger trains are running. Disruption of a different kind will affect various English operators next week, when drivers’ union ASLEF stages further strikes in its continuing pay dispute. As before, this will be a series of ‘rolling’ strikes, affecting different groups of operators each day.