Strike action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is set to cause further disruption to rail services across the North and into Scotland this weekend.
TransPennine Express (TPE) will be running an amended timetable on Sunday 20 March with a limited amount of services in operation.
Customers are asked to avoid travelling on Sunday and, instead, make their journey either side of the strike date.
Anyone making an essential journey should plan carefully by checking the TPE website or National Rail Enquires, and allow plenty of extra time as those trains that are running will be very busy. Bikes will not be permitted on-board TPE services on Sunday.
The latest information on the strike action, including those services TPE are intending to operate on Sunday, can be found at tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/strike
Further strikes by RMT are also planned for 27 March, 3 April, 16 and 17 April, 30 April and 1 May and 4 and 5 June, and are likely to cause additional disruption for rail travellers.
Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said:
“This will be the sixth weekend that strike action by RMT will impact customers across our network, at a time when more and more are returning to rail and relying on our services to get them to work or to visit friends and family.
“Due to the strike, we will only be able to run a relatively small number of trains on Sunday, and are urging people to avoid travel and instead, travel either side of the strike day.”
For those making an essential journey on Sunday, TPE has arranged ticket acceptance with several other train companies to help them get from a to b. TPE tickets will be accepted on Northern, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, Lumo, LNER (between York and Edinburgh), ScotRail, Hull Trains (between Hull-Brough/Doncaster only) and Transport for Wales services. Ticket acceptance is also in place for FirstBus services in West Yorkshire . for customers who may need to use a bus service to complete a rail journey. Some exclusions will apply and full details are available online.