Northern announces timetables for three-day RMT January strike

The train operator aims to run around 1,350 services each day across the north of England, equating to more than 50 per cent of its normal timetable.

The majority of trains will run between 7am and 7pm and Northern expects all services to be extremely busy, especially in the morning and evening peak periods. Customers are advised to allow extra time to travel and to plan any journeys carefully.

Sharon Keith, Regional Director at Northern, said: “Services across the three days will be busy as many people are returning to work and school after the Christmas break.

“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% of our normal weekday timetable. We will also have replacement bus services available on some routes where trains aren’t running.

“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.”

Details of the revised timetables, as well as other information about the impact of the RMT strike action, can be found on Northern’s website at northernrailway.co.uk/strike. Train running information can also be found on National Rail Enquires website.

RMT’s planned strike action comes as Northern is in the process of modernising its network. The programme will see 98 new trains, 243 updated trains, faster and more frequent services, more space for customers, and better stations. Staff will be more visible and available than ever before as part of the plans.

Sharon added: “Modernising your journey means making changes to how we support our customers, including the conductors' role. We want everyone to get behind our modernisation and investment so the wealth of benefits can be felt by everyone across the North.

“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 travel on 8, 10 or 12 January and experience delays of 30 minutes or more, can claim compensation through Northern’s Delay Repay scheme. 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. All claims can be made using the Delay Repay process on Northern’s website or by collecting a form at any staffed station.