Strikes
Industrial action – 31 May, 2 June and 3 June.
As a result of ASLEF and RMT industrial action, there will be rail strikes – 31 May, 2 June and 3 June.
Disruption is also expected on 1 June, Check with other train operators before travelling.
We advise checking journey planners if you choose to travel on days affected by industrial action, particularly in the morning and the last service of the day. Please also check journeys the day after strikes as some services may be affected.
Remember to check your entire journey as services across the country may be affected.
This page will be updated with more information as we receive it.

Check Timetables Check journey planner
Last update 22/5/2023
Travel advice
Strike days
- There are no Northern Services on 31 May and 3 June
- There are limited Northern services 2 June
- There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days for Northern services and some Northern stations may be closed or have reduced hours due to the limited staffing and services.
- Advanced tickets have been withdrawn from sale for strike days.
Timetables & Journey planners
Journey planners and timetables for 31 May, 2 June and 3 June are not available yet. More information will be posted here when we have it.
On strike days - Ticket easements and refunds
Information for strike days
If you have a ticket to travel on strike days:
- You can request a fee-free change of journey for all ticket types if the train is cancelled or delayed, or rescheduled from that in the published timetable of the day after you have purchased a ticket, via our refunds requests page.
- If you have a ticket for the day(s) industrial action is taking place you can use the ticket for travel on specified alternative days (excludes London Underground).
- Tickets for Wednesday 31st May can be used on the day before the date on the ticket or up to and including Monday 5 June
- Tickets for 2 & 3 June can be used on Thursday 1 June or up to and including Tuesday 6 June
- Daily tickets, such as Anytime or Off-Peak can claim a full refund with no admin fee if you decide not to travel from point of purchase on the refunds request page or find more refund details on the Northern Refunds page.
- Season ticket refund, including flexi – You can get a refund on the portion of the season ticket not used, as per the standard refund policy through the season ticket compensation form more information can be found on the season ticket strike calculator page.
Delay Repay
We aim to deliver the best possible service for our customers. Unfortunately, delays do happen from time to time. If you’ve experienced a delay on your journey, you may be entitled to a refund. Our Delay Repay scheme provides compensation to customers ...
Find out moreMore details and updates
We want to keep you informed on upcoming strike action across the rail network. Add your details to the form below and we'll send you updates with the latest train strike information.
FAQs
Industrial action
RMT have called strikes because of a dispute over pay and terms and conditions.
Strike action will significantly impact our ability to run a train service, details of which will be available on northernrailway.co.uk/strikes
Some stations will be affected by the strikes, including the facilities at those stations. We are advising people not to travel or attempt to go to the station on strike days.
If you have assistance booked please contact our passenger assist team to discuss or replan on 0800 138 5560 (Text Relay 18001 0800 138 5560) or visit the passenger assist page.
The whole of the rail network is affected by strikes, which means the industry has had to prioritise freight trains running on the mainline to keep supermarkets stocked with food and other essentials. There simply aren’t enough railway workers to keep trains running on our network.
There will be no alternative transport in place on strike days.
Our advice is not to travel on the dates impacted by strike action.
If you have a ticket to travel on strike days:
- Ticket holders can get a fee-free refund or change the date of the ticket, for any train that is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled from that in published timetables on the days after you purchased a ticket via our refunds requests page.
- If you have a ticket for the day(s) industrial action is taking place you can use the ticket for travel on specified alternative days (excludes London Underground).
- Season ticket refund, including flexi – You can get a refund on the portion of the season ticket not used, as per the standard refund policy through the season ticket compensation form more information on can be found on the season ticket strike calculator page.
If you have a return trip planned where the outward or return journey is affected by the strike action, you can claim a refund or compensation for the full journey. Visit our refunds page for more information.
We advise everyone not to travel on the dates impacted by strike action as services will be significantly impacted and reduced. If you decide to travel anyway and are delayed by 15mins or more you are entitled to delay repay compensation.
We advise you to only travel if necessary during the period that strike action is taking place, normal services will not be running. Expect severe delays if you do choose to travel.
If you have already purchased a ticket and your journey is affected by the industrial action, you can claim a full refund on unused tickets with no administration fee.
If you have an Advance ticket, please travel as close as possible to the original day and time of travel as possible.
We continue to provide Passenger Assistance for all services which run, however, we expect trains to be very busy. Please follow the travel advice for the day of travel.
No, the 'book with confidence' policy has now expired (30 November). From 1 December 2022 an administration fee may apply when Advance ticket customers choose to change the time of their journey.
Advance tickets will be non-refundable unless the booked service has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled by the train operator for reasons such as disruption or strikes in which case refunds are available.
Customers with tickets purchased before 30 November can still be amended once, for free.
Advance tickets are not available to buy for days impacted by strike action.