Leeds trains: TransPennine Express strikes going into eleventh week with no end in sight to rail industrial action

Rail passengers are being advised not to travel this weekend as TransPennine Express prepare for an eleventh straight weekend of union strike action.
By Alex Grant
Published 22nd Apr 2022, 04:45 BST

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Strike action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is set to cause further disruption to services this Sunday (April 24).

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TransPennine will only be operating a small number of trains on its North and South routes this weekend and is strongly recommending customers avoid travel or travel either side of the strike date instead.

RMT conductors are striking having been giving a flat no to requests to close the pay gap between themselves and other TPE workers. Picture: Gary Longbottom.RMT conductors are striking having been giving a flat no to requests to close the pay gap between themselves and other TPE workers. Picture: Gary Longbottom.
RMT conductors are striking having been giving a flat no to requests to close the pay gap between themselves and other TPE workers. Picture: Gary Longbottom.
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Due to a combination of the strikes and engineering work on the West Coast Mainline, there will be no TPE services running between Manchester/Liverpool Lime Street, Preston and Scotland on Sunday and customers should seek alternative transport or travel on Saturday or Monday instead.

Network Rail is carrying out engineering work between Carlisle and Edinburgh/Glasgow on Saturday and Sunday, with a replacement bus service running between Carlisle, Lockerbie Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Anyone heading to a major event by rail this Sunday, such as the Hull FC v Catalans Dragons Rugby League game and Liverpool v Everton Premier League match, should seek alternative transport.

Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said: “Action by RMT continues to cause disruption to our customers’ journeys.

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“With a further strike planned for this Sunday, we are once again advising those customers to travel either side of Sunday as we will only be running a limited service on two of our routes, with no TPE trains at all on the West Coast Mainline.”

More information on the limited services TPE is intending to operate on Sunday can be found at tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/strike and anyone making an essential journey on either the North or South route should plan very carefully and allow extra time to travel.

Further strikes by RMT are planned to take place on Sundays up to and including 5 June, and on the following full weekends:

Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1

Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5.

RMT conductors are striking having been giving a flat no to requests to close the pay gap between themselves and other TPE workers.

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Northern Rail conductors meanwhile agreed a small payment of 2p for a new method of checking tickets.

Ticket acceptance is in place with Northern, Avanti West Coast (between Wigan and Carlisle), CrossCountry (between Leeds and Edinburgh), East Midlands Railway, Lumo, LNER (between York and Edinburgh), ScotRail, Hull Trains (between Hull and Doncaster) 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 via the TPE website.

Related topics:Transpennine ExpressRMTRail passengersLeedsHull FC