Strikes on Avanti West Coast resume on Sunday 2 February. After two successive Sundays with severe disruption – but no walk-outs – most trains run by the intercity train operator will be cancelled as industrial action resumes. As things stand, the first Sunday without a strike is expected to be in June.
The rail firm connects London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland,
Train managers working for Avanti West Coast and belonging to the RMT union are unhappy with what they have been offered to work on rest days: £250 for an eight-hour shift on weekdays, £300 on Sundays.
Train drivers earn at least twice as much, with a flat £600 for working on a day off.
Strikes in pursuit of their claim began on New Year’s Eve. The most recent two strikes, on 19 and 26 January, were suspended by the RMT for talks to take place. But on the first Sunday, the suspension came too late to reinstate most trains; on the second, the effects of Storm Eowyn meant services were heavily disrupted, with no trains between London Euston and Glasgow until the evening.
It appears no progress has been made in negotiating a settlement, and so the train managers are set to walk out for 17 successive Sundays, up to and including 25 May.
The coming strike on 2 February will be particularly damaging because the East Coast main line, which offers parallel travel between London, northern England and Scotland, is closed between King's Cross station in the capital and Peterborough for engineering work.
Avanti West Coast is telling passengers ahead of the next strike: “If you need to travel on Sunday 2 February, be sure to check your journey before you travel.
“Our timetables and operating hours will be significantly reduced and trains that do run are expected to be busy.
“Engineering work and football fixtures will affect journeys across the rail network on this date.”
Network Rail engineering on the main line between Stafford and Crewe will reduce capacity on 2 February.
Avanti West Coast originally planned three trains an hour to and from Birmingham, two per hour serving Manchester and hourly trains to/from Liverpool and between Crewe and Holyhead.
But the strike is cutting options still further, with no trains at all on the London-Liverpool and Crewe-Holyhead links and severely restricted hours on other lines.
The Independent has analysed the published timetable and has identified the following service levels on other routes:
Similar service patterns are in force heading south to London Euston.
Arsenal are hosting Manchester City on 2 February, while Manchester United are at home for Crystal Palace. Many away fans for both matches would normally expect to travel on Avanti West Coast trains.
A spokesperson for the RMT union said: “We remain ready and available at any time for talks to make progress on settling this rest day working dispute.”
