STOCKHOLM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Up to 90 percent of all commuter train departures were canceled in the Swedish capital on Wednesday as a strike among train drivers entered its third consecutive day, local media reported.
On average, more than 400,000 commuter train journeys are done per day, according to MTR Nordic which operates the service on behalf of Stockholm's public transport provider SL, and many commuters had to find other means getting to and from work.
"Depending on the time of day, there will be between 80 and 90 percent fewer departures than usual," SL spokesperson Henrik Palmer told TT news agency ahead of the morning rush hours.
"Around 25 buses are required to replace one train set, and we have around 50 available," Palmer told TT, indicating a large shortfall to the train replacement.
Although the strike is planned to last until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Palmer said there were uncertainties as to when the service would run according to schedule again as train sets were left haphazardly throughout the network when the strike commenced.
The strike, which was not sanctioned by the trade union organizing the train drivers, was announced last Friday by train drivers unhappy with the decision to remove conductors from the commuter trains.
Such a decision, train drivers have said, would jeopardize safety as they would be solely responsible for monitoring that all doors are clear before closing them.
Politicians in the Stockholm region, responsible for providing public transport, have told local media that the new system is safe, while saving the region up to 150 million kronor (14.5 million U.S. dollars) annually. ■