UK commuters hit by train strikes

The strikes have cast doubt over the future of Transport Minister Byers

LONDON, England -- Thousands of rail commuters across southern England and Scotland are suffering another day of strikes.

Hardest hit was London where the strike over pay forced South West Trains, which serves many routes into the capital, to cancel nearly nine out of 10 trains for a fourth day.

Special buses were again laid on for commuters and other travellers but many people spent hours struggling to get to work.

Meanwhile, about a quarter of ScotRail services in Scotland were scrapped because of an unrelated pay dispute.

And there were fears the strikes could spread to the north of England, where unions were balloting members about a walkout at Arriva Trains Northern. The results are expected later on Tuesday, the union said.

The industrial action put pressure on Transport Secretary Stephen Byers, who has been criticised for pushing the network into insolvency and going on holiday as the latest crisis erupted.

There was further speculation over his position when it was revealed on Monday that Prime Minster Tony Blair had asked strategy adviser and former BBC chief Lord Birt for new ideas on modernising the railways.

Emergency timetable

And on Tuesday, newspapers predicted that Byers would soon make way for Andrew Smith, a Treasury minister with experience of transport policy.

Byers insisted that his job was safe and brushed aside talk that his days were numbered.

"I know the prime minister is in full agreement with the action we have taken so far in relation to the railways and ... he wants me to get on with the job to improve the railway system," Byers told BBC radio.

The government has promised to pump billions of pounds into modernising a railway system that has been blighted by fatal crashes in recent years and has fallen far behind other European countries in terms of investment.

On Tuesday, about 85 percent of services in the southwest of England and into London's Waterloo station were cancelled or delayed.

An emergency timetable continued to operate in Scotland where one in four services was cancelled by a separate dispute.

It was the second strike in southern England after a 48-hour stoppage last week halted 90 percent of services and the union has warned further walkouts could be called against South West Trains.

In an attempt to end the stalemate, the company announced on Tuesday that it would give its employees a 7.6 percent pay increase over 18 months.