Train strikes set to go ahead: Northern issues advice to customers
Northern has advised customers to ‘check before you travel’ on two dates next week as the RMT stage their latest strike action against train operators on Thursday 16 & Saturday 18 March.
Despite suspending action by their members working for Network Rail, the RMT strike for members working for train operators, including Northern, remains in place.
Northern will run an amended strike timetable on the affected days, with a 12-hour operation on selected routes from 7am to 7pm.
For more information, customers should visit: www.northernrailway.co.uk/strikes
In addition to the action on 16 and 18 March, there are further RMT strikes planned for 30 March and 1 April.
Given the impact of the RMT action on fleet displacement, services are expected to start later than usual on the days immediately following the strike dates (Friday 17 and Sunday 19 March), although a full timetable will run on those days once services are up and running.
Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “We’re expecting the skeleton services we can run to be very busy – so customers should plan ahead and check before they travel.
“Given the reduced timetable only runs until 7pm, I’m very keen to stress that people should check their ‘last train home’ on those dates – so that customers don’t find themselves stranded at the wrong end of the line as a result of this action by the RMT.”
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.