TPE customers asked to be prepared ahead of Eurovision strike disruption
TransPennine Express (TPE) is calling on customers travelling to Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest celebrations to be prepared for timetable changes following the announcement of strike action.
Both ASLEF and RMT have strike action planned next week (Friday 12 and Saturday 13 May), with the walk-outs set to cause disruption for rail customers across the rail network.
On Friday 12 May, when ASLEF members plan to take action, there will be no TPE services at all. Meanwhile, on Saturday 13 May – the day of the Eurovision Grand Final – planned RMT strike actions means there will be a significantly reduced TPE service.
Kathryn O’Brien, Operations and Customer Experience Director at TPE, said: “This next week should be a time of celebration for Liverpool and the wider North West region, as we have been given a unique opportunity to host the world’s biggest music competition on behalf of those in Ukraine.
“Whilst we will do all we can to help make the event a success, sadly our customers need to be aware that the strike action will have a significant impact on our ability to run services to and from Liverpool.
“On Friday there will be no services at all and on Saturday, when we know so many people will want to head into Liverpool to be part of the historic event, we will run all that we can – but even this will be a limited timetable, with no trains out of the city after 7pm.”
Kathryn added: “We will have TPE staff out and about across the network over the coming week and into next weekend to provide help and advice to our customers and we will do all we can to keep people on the move. But we need our customers to plan ahead carefully, consider their travel options and make other arrangements, where necessary, if travelling to and from Eurovision.”
To help Eurovision fans get to Liverpool, TPE will operate the following services on Saturday 13 May:
- At least an hourly service from Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool between 7.50am and 6pm
- An hourly service from Huddersfield to Liverpool between 8.15am and 5.20pm
- Five services from Preston to Liverpool between 9am and 5.05pm
- Four services from Sheffield to Liverpool between 9am and 4.10pm
Full details of TPE’s timetable for Saturday 13 May can be found via the TPE website or National Rail Enquiries.
Customers with tickets for TransPennine Express services on Friday 12 or Saturday 13 May may defer their journeys and travel up to and including Tuesday 16 May. Those who choose not to travel can claim a full refund via the TPE website.