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Wednesday 2 Nov 2022

Severely limited trains at Manchester Piccadilly during November strikes

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

• Passengers should only travel if absolutely necessary during RMT strike action on 5, 7 and 9 November
• A special timetable will be in place with only four trains per hour leaving Manchester Piccadilly
• Many routes have no trains at all - those which do run will start later from 7:30am and finish by 6.30pm
• Passengers are reminded to plan ahead using National Rail Enquiries and to expect disruption

Passengers planning on travelling through Manchester Piccadilly station during RMT strike action on Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November are being warned not to get caught out with trains finishing much earlier than normal.

Only four trains per hour will depart from the station - that's compared to an average of 30 departures an hour on a non strike day.

Nationally only 20% of trains will be running on around 50% of the railway network.

Timetables for services this Saturday have been published and are live on the National Rail journey planner. Timetables for next Monday and Wednesday will be published tomorrow (Thursday) and Saturday respectively. A map illustrating the disruption is attached. 

Manchester Piccadilly's last trains will leave between 3pm and 5pm with final arrivals by 6.30pm.

The station will close its doors completely at 7pm on strike days.

People are once again being advised to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary because of the continuing staff walkouts by RMT union members.

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

People can also check with their individual train operators through these links:

• Avanti West Coast’s information page
• Northern’s information page
• TransPennine Express’ information page
• CrossCountry’s information page
• East Midlands Railway’s information page
• Transport for Wales’ information page

Network Rail is trying to give passengers the best service it possibly can but trains will be significantly reduced or not running at all on some routes.

Across the country, thousands of specially-trained and fully qualified back-up staff will again step in during the walkouts to keep vital services running for those who need them.

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “It's hugely frustrating that once again rail passengers across the North West will be disrupted due to unnecessary strike action despite our best efforts to reach a compromise with the unions. This means once again many North West routes won’t be served at all, causing misery for millions of rail passengers. With a fraction of the usual workforce available, including signallers who safely move trains around the network, there will be a severely limited service during the RMT strike action on the 5, 7 and 9 November.

“I can only apologise for the impact another RMT strike will have on people’s lives. It is frustrating to yet again ask our passengers to change their plans and only make absolutely necessary journeys. I'd also please ask anyone who does try to travel to be kind to our staff who are working, as all will be trying to provide the best advice they can for people while a very limited train service is running.”

Passengers should also expect disruption in the morning after each strike day with a later start to services as employees return to duties.

Alongside the national RMT strikes, additional industrial action includes:

• Sunday 6 November: RMT industrial action by Avanti West Coast train managers will see its timetable reduced significantly and services which do run will be very busy

For specific train operator service information, please visit National Rail or your train operating company.