Northern to cancel nearly half of trains on latest strike days

Nearly half of Northern Rail services will have to be cancelled when a fresh wave of strikes begins next week.
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Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Northern, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, and the Isle of Wight’s Island Line will walk out on January 8, 10 and 12, in the long-running dispute over the role of guards, while those on Southern will strike on January 8.

The strikes will bring fresh disruption to passengers, days after the rail fares increase.

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Northern says it expects to run around 1,350 services each day, over 50 per cent of its normal timetable.

The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.
The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.

Most will run between 7am and 7pm and Northern is warning that services will be "extremely busy" as people return to work and school after the Christmas break.

Replacement bus services will be running on routes where trains are not available.

Sharon Keith, Regional Director at Northern, said: “We are doing all we can to keep our customers on the move and are focussing on running as many trains as possible between 7am and 7pm to get people to work and home again. Between these hours we will run more than 60 per cent of our normal weekday timetable.

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“We ask everyone to take time to plan their journeys carefully, allow extra time for travel and regularly check for service updates on our website.”

The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.
The strikes will cause fresh disruption to passengers, days after rail fares increase.

The RMT's general secretary Mick Cash said they had been left "no option" but to continue strike action, saying efforts to reach negotiated settlements in separate disputes had been "kicked back in our faces."

Ms Keith said: “Northern is still prepared to guarantee jobs and pay for conductors for the next eight years if we can reach an agreement with RMT on how our colleagues can deliver better customer service. The Government has also guaranteed the employment of conductors beyond 2025 and into the next franchise if RMT ends its dispute.”

Customers, who experience delays of 30 minutes or more on strike days, can claim compensation through Northern’s Delay Repay scheme.

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Those with season tickets that don’t include buses, trams or ferries, who decide not to travel due to strike action, can also claim compensation.

Claims can be made using the Delay Repay process on Northern’s website or by collecting a form at any staffed station.

The revised timetables can be found on Northern’s website at northernrailway.co.uk/strike