Passengers have been told to brace for travel chaos in the new year, ahead of five straight days of strikes set to hit rail services in Greater Manchester.
Rail passengers are being warned of severely disrupted train services in the first week of 2023 as two rail unions are to take strike action over five days between them. The union strikes between January 3 and 7 will result in 'very limited' trains running for passengers.
Manchester Piccadilly, the second busiest station in the United Kingdom outside London, will see just four trains leave per hour during the RMT strikes on January 3-4, and 6-7.
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Services will start at the later time of 7.30am, with the last departures by 5pm. There will also be very few trains running on Thursday, January 5, due to the ASLEF train drivers' strike.
On all days, passengers have been told to only travel if 'absolutely necessary', with widespread disruption expected. There will be just two trains running per hour at Piccadilly, compared with an average of 30 on a normal weekday.
Two 48-hour walkouts by Network Rail staff in the RMT union on January 3 and 4, and then 6 and 7, will see just two trains per hour serving Manchester Piccadilly over the reduced operating hours.
Manchester Piccadilly station itself will close entirely by 6.30pm, with passengers are being warned not to get caught out by the much earlier finish. Then, on January 5, train drivers in the ASLEF union will go on strike at 15 train companies across the country.
It will mean no trains at all for the following operators which run services in and out of Manchester Piccadilly:
- Avanti West Coast
- Northern
- TransPennine Express
- East Midlands Railway
- CrossCountry
- Transport for Wales, which is not part of the ASLEF dispute, will run a limited service on that day but is expected to be extremely busy as a result.
Scott Green, Manchester Piccadilly station manager, said: “Of course this is not the start to the year we want for rail passengers who have suffered all Christmas because of unnecessary strike action.
“But with five straight days of strikes I’d urge passengers to once again only travel if absolutely necessary with very limited trains running over reduced hours next week. Please check National Rail Enquiries and consider travelling on another day – any pre-booked tickets will be valid up to and including January 10.
"We know how frustrating this period will be for passengers as strike action has such a huge impact on running a decent service. Our station staff will be doing their very best to get people to where they want to go and we’d ask for patience and forbearance as we have seen an alarming rise in verbal abuse directed at staff during these difficult periods.”
Passengers who must travel should check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect and for further ticket and refund information.
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