Passengers warned of major disruption as Avanti West Coast train managers strike
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Passengers using key rail routes face disruption because of strikes by train managers. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members at Avanti West Coast will walk out on New Year’s Eve and January 2 in a dispute about rest day working. Avanti has urged travellers to travel on alternative days as services will be down to a "significantly reduced" timetable on the strike days, with limited hours of operation, and trains that do run will be busy.
On Tuesday, Avanti announced intentions to maintain one train per hour from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, and Preston, alongside a scaled-back service to Glasgow. Additionally, a two-hourly service is scheduled between Liverpool and Crewe. On January 2, travellers can expect to see an hourly train from Euston to Wolverhampton via Birmingham, to Crewe, and to Manchester, with another limited service connecting Glasgow and Preston.
With the planned curtailed schedule, trains will start leaving Euston at about 8am, with the last departure from Euston before 5pm on both affected dates. This revamped timetable means locations such as North Wales, Blackpool, and Edinburgh will miss out on Avanti West Coast connections during the strike.
On December 31, Avanti services will bypass Macclesfield completely, and on January 2, there won't be any services heading to or coming from Warrington Bank Quay or Wigan North Western. Avanti West Coast has issued a travel alert to passengers, reminding those who choose to journey to expect delays and check their last train times.
