Rail passengers face disruption with three days of strike action planned

Rail union RMT has confirmed there will be a walkout affecting Northern Rail services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week, as part of an ongoing dispute over the role of train guards and driver-only operated trains.

A number of stations will not have any services running, whilst others will see a reduced number of trains.

Rail replacement bus services will be in operation in some areas.

A statement from northern said: “The majority of available trains will operate between 07.00 and 19.00 as we focus on running as many trains as we can to get you into work and home again.

“During these hours, we will operate around 65 per cent of the normal weekday timetable.

“As the overall number of trains running will be reduced, we do expect trains and any replacement buses we operate to be extremely busy.

“Please allow extra time for journeys, plan carefully and consider whether travel is necessary.”

Industrial action, which comes days after a rail fare rise, will also affect Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Southern and South Western services.

The RMT’s general secretary Mick Cash said they had been left “no option” but to continue strike action, saying efforts to reach negotiated settlements in separate disputes had been “kicked back in our faces.”

Visit northernrailway.co.uk/strike for revised timetables.