Northern Rail services face strike action in safety dispute

Northern Rail has announced an amended timetable during three days of strike action in a dispute over safety.

Members of rail union RMT will strike from Saturday to Monday, July 8 to 10, with up to 60 per cent of Northern’s usual timetabled services cancelled.

The RMT says making trains “Driver Only Operated” – as Northern franchise operator Arriva Rail North plans to – is unsafe for both staff and the public.

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Picket lines are expected at key Northern routes during the strike.

Northern said services which are running would be supplemented with bus replacement services.

Sharon Keith, Northern’s regional director, said: “Being able to run more than 40 per cent of services means we will be able to keep the north of England on the move.

“Our amended timetables have been developed to provide the best possible cover across the three days and to try to best meet the needs of our leisure customers at the weekend and commuters on Monday.”

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On Saturday and Monday, most routes will run between 7am and 7pm.

Sunday services will run from 9am-5pm.

Northern urged rail users to allow extra journey time and consider whether travel is necessary.

“We have worked to prioritise services on our busiest routes, at the busiest times of day.

“But we expect all services to be busy and ask our customers to plan ahead accordingly,” said Ms Keith.

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