Rail passengers in Lancashire face major service disruption this weekend as train managers strike

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Avanti West Coast will launch a series of Sunday walkouts in a dispute over rest day working.

Avanti urged its customers to travel either side of Sunday which marks the start of strike action every Sunday until May 25.

A reduced timetable will be in place on the strike days, with fewer services running during limited operating hours.

Trains which will run are expected to be busy.

Join our new WhatsApp Community to get the latest news and top stories from across Lancashire directly to your phone

With planned engineering works taking place on most of these Sundays, timetables for each strike date may vary and take longer to be finalised.

The significantly reduced timetable will mean Blackpool, North Wales, Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield will have no Avanti West Coast services.

Avanti West Coast will run one train an hour between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with The Gazette’s free emails

Lancaster and destinations in the Lake District (Oxenholme and Penrith) will not be served by Avanti West Coast on January 12 due to planned engineering work.

A limited service will operate between Glasgow and Carlisle.

In addition, rail replacement buses will run between Carlisle and Preston due to planned engineering work.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with The LEP’s free emails

These trains will operate during limited hours, with the first train of the day departing Euston after 8am and the last train of the day from Euston departing before 5pm.

Customers who do travel should plan ahead, expect disruption, and check the details of their last train home, said Avanti.

Kathryn O’Brien, executive director of customer experience at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re disappointed by the RMT calling strike action for an extended period when our customers may be working, visiting family and friends, or enjoying days out.

“As a result, they will face significantly disrupted journeys during this time.

“I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.

“On the strike days we’ll have a reduced service, so customers with tickets for those days are strongly advised to travel on alternative dates or claim a full fee-free refund. We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”