Rail customers urged not to travel this Sunday ahead of RMT strike - with no TransPennine Express services running on the West Coast Mainline
TransPennine Express (TPE) is urging customers across its network not to travel on its trains this Sunday (10 April), with strike action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union set to cause widespread disruption to services.
There will be no TPE trains in operation on the West Coast Mainline on Sunday (between Manchester/Liverpool, Preston into Scotland and anyone that needs to make an essential journey on this line should seek alternative transport or travel on Saturday or Monday instead.
A very limited service will be in place on TPE’s North and South routes, and customers are strongly urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Those that need to take the train should plan very carefully, check before they travel (via the TPE website or National Rail Enquiries) and allow extra time, as any trains that are running will be very busy.
More information including services the rail operator is intending to run on Sunday can be found at: tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/strike
Due to the strike action, bikes will not be permitted on-board TPE services on Sunday.
Customers making an essential journey on the route between Hull/York, Leeds and Manchester are reminded that all services will terminate/start at Manchester Victoria because of engineering work.
Network Rail are carrying out engineering work between Carlisle and Edinburgh/Glasgow this Saturday and Sunday, with a replacement bus service running between Carlisle, Lockerbie Edinburgh and Glasgow.
On Saturday, some TPE services between the North West and Scotland will start or terminate at Oxenholme, and customers are advised to plan accordingly. These are the:
- 1205 Glasgow Central to Liverpool Lime Street
- 1210 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh
Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said: “Due to ongoing RMT strike action as well as engineering work, we will be unable to run any trains on the West Coast Mainline on Sunday 10 April and are urging customers to seek alternative transport or travel either side of this date
“Elsewhere on our network, we will only be able to run a small number of trains on both our North and South routes, any we are recommending customers travel only if their journey is absolutely necessary.”
TPE has arranged ticket acceptance with several other train companies to support those making essential journeys on Sunday 10 April.
TPE tickets will be accepted on Northern, Avanti West Coast (between Wigan and Carlisle), CrossCountry (between Leeds and Edinburgh), Lumo, LNER (between York and Edinburgh), ScotRail, Hull Trains (between Hull and Doncaster) and Transport for Wales services. Ticket acceptance is also in place for FirstBus services in West Yorkshire for customers who may need to use a bus service to complete a rail journey.
Some exclusions will apply and full details are available online.