LONDON (Reuters) - A judge blocked a strike Thursday by railway signallers planned for next week, effectively halting Britain's first national rail strike in 16 years.
A strike by railway maintenance workers from April 6 was expected to go ahead but that is likely to cause far less disruption to travellers than the signallers' strike would have done.
The decision will come as a relief to Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is expected to announce the date of a national election on April 6.
The strike would have been an embarrassment to Brown's Labour Party, trailing in opinion polls before the election expected on May 6, as it receives most of its funding from unions.
Justice Victoria Sharp ruled in favour of rail infrastructure operator Network Rail which had sought a court order to block the strike, citing irregularities in the strike ballot, the Press Association news agency said.
Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Keith Weir
Reuters UK
