Lancashire rail services to see shakeup as historic rail union dispute ends
A deal struck between Northern and RMT spells good news for Clitheroe passengers, but reduced services across wider Lancashire.
The end of a years-long union dispute will mean the return of many Sunday rail services across the North West - with Clitheroe among the first areas to benefit.
More Sunday services will be restored between Blackburn and Clitheroe from December 13, after years of complaints from passengers left without a regular seven-day service.
The change will allow residents to travel between Blackburn, the Ribble Valley and surrounding areas directly as Northern focuses on making its services more reliable for passengers across the North West.
But while travellers in Clitheroe are among those set to benefit most, people commuting through other areas of Lancashire may see their services reduced - or in the case of the Lancaster to Morecambe line, cut entirely and replaced with buses.
In particular, the hourly service between Preston and Blackpool South has been reduced to once every two hours - though those same trains travelling from Preston to Colne will see no change.
Elsewhere, the Blackpool North to Liverpool line will also be reduced from hourly to every two hours.
And while those travelling between Clitheroe and Blackburn on Sundays will benefit, travellers from Blackburn to Manchester Victoria will also see their hourly service reduced to every two hours all week.
Select services across Lancashire have also been cancelled. These are:
- Barrow-in Furness to Manchester Airport: 09:52 and 14:47
- Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness: 10:33 and 12:30
- Preston to Manchester Airport: 09:12
- Manchester Airport to Windemere: 17:30
- Blackpool North to Manchester Airport: 11:51, 15:51, and 19:48
- Manchester Airport to Blackpool North: 13:45, 17:45, and 21:45
- Liverpool to Blackpool North: 23:15
Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, said he was “delighted” to hear that Sunday services would return to Clitheroe.
"Clitheroe Sunday services are coming back,” he said.
"I've been campaigning on this since I was elected, whether that has been making the case down in Parliament to the Transport Secretary, or getting the Northern Rail bosses up to Clitheroe.
"To me, it's been a clear example of something that would not be tolerated in London or the South East.
"But I'm now delighted to announce that Northern Rail will be returning to running trains seven days a week across the North West, with the Clitheroe Sunday service singled out as a priority for immediate reinstatement.”
The transport changes follow the end of a nine-year union dispute between the operator and RMT.
In a new deal struck between the two, Northern will no longer rely on train conductors working voluntary overtime to keep their services running - as they have done since 2017.
RMT members will see a 4.25 per cent increase in their take-home pay, which includes overtime, and Sundays are officially considered part of their working week.
As part of the deal, it also means that drivers will be allowed to open the doors, but that conductors will still be allowed to close them.
One train driver told the Post that keeping this responsibility for conductors will likely mean that conductors are at less risk of redundancy: keeping this responsibility will prevent their main role being reduced to ticket inspection.
Around 230 services are set to be restored by May next year, with the first 60 to 80 - including the Sunday Clitheroe to Blackburn line - being introduced in the coming weeks.
Northern hopes this will bring in more than £4 million in revenue.
Tricia Williams, managing director at Northern, said: “Bringing an end to the longest-running trade dispute on the railway gives us the opportunity to look forward and, importantly, start delivering the improvements our customers have been waiting for.
"We want people to have confidence that they can travel by train on a Sunday, whether they are going to work, visiting friends and family, heading into a city centre or enjoying a day out. This agreement gives us the foundation to build a more reliable, modern railway that works seven days a week.
“We know how frustrating the lack of Sunday services has been for many communities. We are committed to bringing services back as quickly as we can, taking a phased approach over the coming months and prioritising those routes and journeys where the impact has been greatest.”
More updates on timetable changes are expected in the coming months.