The Midlands is facing more strike chaos this weekend with passengers on busy rail routes warned of disruption to services because of a walkout by train managers. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Avanti West Coast, the main route between Birmingham and London, 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.
It’s the latest strike to blight the lives of Midland residents. Birmingham taxpayers – facing a 20 per cent council tax rise over two years – are affected by a bins strike, while train managers at Avanti also staged strike action before Christmas and New Year over the rest day working dispute.
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Trains which will run on Sunday are expected to be busy, passengers were warned. With planned engineering works taking place on most of these Sundays, timetables for each strike date may vary and take longer to be finalised.
On Sunday Avanti West Coast will run one train an hour between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston. 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. 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.
The significantly reduced timetable will mean North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield will have no Avanti West Coast services. 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.
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.”