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Thursday 29 Dec 2022

Five straight strike days to impact all Liverpool train services

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

• Rail union strikes between 3-7 January mean very limited trains for passengers
• Liverpool Lime Street will see two trains leave per hour during RMT strikes on 3-4 and 6-7
• Services will start much later from 7.30am with last departures by 5pm
• Hardly any trains will run at all during an ASLEF train drivers' strike on Thursday 5 January
• On all days passengers should only travel if absolutely necessary

Rail passengers are being warned of severely disrupted train services in the first week of 2023 as two rail unions take strike action over five days between them.

Two 48-hour walkouts by Network Rail staff in the RMT union on Tuesday 3 & Wednesday 4, and Friday 6 & Saturday 7 January, will see just two trains per hour serving Liverpool Lime Street over reduced operating hours.

That’s compared to an average of 13 trains leaving every hour on a normal weekday.

Nationally 20% of services will run on just 50% of the network – most branch lines will have no trains at all.

Trains will start later from 7.30am with last long distance departures between 3 and 5pm.

Lime Street station itself will close entirely by 7pm and passengers are being warned not to get caught out by the much earlier finish.

Although Merseyrail is not taking part in the RMT strike action, only a limited service will be able to run on 3, 4, 5 and 7 January because Network Rail signallers are striking.

A 45-minute service will run between approximately 7.30am and 6.30pm.

• Merseyrail's information page

Then on Thursday 5 January train drivers in the ASLEF union will go on strike at 15 train companies across the country*.

It will mean no trains at all for the following operators which run services in and out of Liverpool Lime Street:

• Avanti West Coast – Click the link for more detail
• Northern – Click the link for more detail
• TransPennine Express – Click the link for more detail
• West Midlands Railway – Click the link for more detail
• London Northwestern Railway – Click the link for more detail
• East Midlands Railway – Click the link for more detail

Transport for Wales, which is not part of the ASLEF dispute, will run a limited service on that day but is expected to be extremely busy as a result.

• Transport for Wales’ information page

Kyla Thomas, Liverpool Lime Street station manager, said: “Of course this is not the start to the year we want for rail passengers who have suffered all Christmas because of unnecessary strike action.

“But with five straight days of strikes I’d urge passengers to once again only travel if absolutely necessary with very limited trains running over reduced hours next week. Please check National Rail Enquiries and consider travelling on another day – any pre-booked tickets will be valid up to and including January 10**.

"We know how frustrating this period will be for passengers as strike action has such a huge impact on running a decent service. Our station staff will be doing their very best to get people to where they want to go and we’d ask for patience and forbearance as we have seen an alarming rise in verbal abuse directed at staff during these difficult periods.”

Passengers planning on travelling into Liverpool and around Merseyside on strike days should only do so if absolutely necessary.

Those who still must travel should check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect.