TransPennine Express has warned passengers not to travel by train this Bank Holiday weekend as there will be severe disruption to services because of a strike by conductors. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out on Saturday and Sunday in a long-running dispute over pay.
TPE urged people not to travel, saying it will be running an amended timetable on both days, with a very limited service available for those making essential journeys. People heading to events including Jubilee celebrations over the weekend were urged to seek alternative transport.
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There will be no TPE trains in operation on the West Coast Mainline on Saturday or Sunday. TPE is urging anyone travelling between Liverpool/Manchester and Glasgow/Edinburgh via Preston and Carlisle to 'seek alternative transport or travel on Friday or Monday instead'. A 'very limited service' will also be operating between Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds, Hull, York, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Edinburgh via Huddersfield.
Kathryn O'Brien, customer experience director for TransPennine Express said: "We are saddened that ongoing RMT strikes will mean we are unable to provide a full service for customers over such a special weekend, when celebrations will be taking place across the UK. With strike action planned for both Saturday and Sunday, coupled with major engineering work, our advice for customers is not to travel by train, and anyone heading to an event should seek alternative transport.
"Major engineering work by Network Rail will also mean changes for customers travelling across our North route, and we are calling on them to plan ahead and check their journeys."
The union said the company was refusing the conductors' request to increase pay for staff coming in on their days off and Sundays and had offered more money to drivers. General Secretary Mick Lynch said members 'will not give in until they have a just settlement.'
He added: "Conductors, like drivers, should be well-rewarded for their work on TPE and if management behave reasonably, we can suspend the action this weekend. What our members are demanding would cost TPE less money than the loss of revenue resulting from strike action. We urge TPE bosses to think again and meaningfully engage with RMT."
