Leeds Festival 2023: 24 hours of train strikes to cause major disruption and service cancellations

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) will walk out on 24 hours of strike action which will cause major disruption to train services during the bank holiday, as 20,000 rail workers walk out over pay, working conditions and job security.

The strike will see workers from 14 train operators take industrial action, including several operating to and from Leeds.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The mood among our members remains solid and determined in our national dispute over pay, job security and working conditions. We have had to call further strike action as we have received no improved or revised offer from the Rail Delivery Group.

 “The reason for this is the government has not allowed them a fresh mandate on which discussions could be held. Our members and our union will continue fighting until we can reach a negotiated and just settlement."

The strike coincides with a number of large events in and around Leeds, including this year’s Leeds Festival, Abor Festival in York, Manchester Pride and football fixtures, with Northern Railway advising customers to avoid travelling on Saturday (August 26).

The planned 24 hour walkout on Saturday will see very limited service, with only a handful of stations able to offer an hourly service between 8AM and 5PM. Service on Sunday (August 27) morning is also expected to be disrupted due to fleet displacement caused by the strikes.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “We know these RMT strikes will cause disruption to the general public.

“Whilst this is only a one-day strike, it falls right in the middle of the busy August bank holiday weekend and will impact people trying to get to major events taking place across the region, including Manchester United and Everton football fixtures, York Races, Leeds Festival, Creamfields and Manchester Pride.

“The RMT is still refusing to put the latest pay offer negotiated on behalf of train operators to a vote by their members and it is unfortunate that these strikes continue for their second summer.”

The 14 train operators affected are Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, LNER, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, West Midlands Trains and GTR (including Gatwick Express), with a number of these services operating in Leeds.

Leeds Festival 2023 returns from Friday August 25 to Sunday August 27, with big names  such as Billie Eilish, The Killers and Sam Fender set to take on Bramham Park.

Yorkshire Evening Post has contacted organisers Festival Republic for a comment.