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Friday 9 Dec 2022

Very limited Manchester Piccadilly trains during December strikes

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

• Only absolutely necessary rail travel is advised during strike action on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December 
• Trains will be on a significantly reduced timetable, will start later from 7:30am and finish by 6.30pm
• During those times four trains trains per hour will depart Manchester Piccadilly station
• With no departing trains after 5pm people should plan alternative ways to get home
• Manchester Piccadilly station will close its doors by 7pm
• Nationally 20% of services will run on just 50% of the network – most branch lines will have no trains at all

Rail passengers planning travel through Manchester Piccadilly station during upcoming strike action by multiple rail workers’ unions before and after Christmas are being warned not to get caught out with limited trains running over reduced hours.

Members of the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions will all take industrial action next week on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December.

This will involve national walkouts from staff at Network Rail and impact all train operators at the busiest station in the North West.

On those dates:

• A special timetable will be in operation with four trains per hour leaving the station
• That's compared to an average of 30 departures an hour on a non-strike weekday
• Trains will run from 7am and last trains will leave between 3pm and 5pm with final arrivals by 6.30pm
• Manchester Piccadilly will close completely at 7pm on strike days

Passengers should also expect disruption from 18 December until 2 January, with wide variations on service provision, due to an overtime ban across 14 train operating companies imposed by the RMT.

Christmas Eve will also see services stop significantly earlier than usual because of further strikes announced by the RMT.

As well as checking www.nationalrail.co.uk on impacts to journeys, rail travellers should also visit individual train operators to find out exactly how the strike action is affecting their services.

• 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

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “It’s hugely disappointing that despite months of negotiations and an improved offer by us to settle our dispute with the RMT, these strikes are still going ahead in a deliberate attempt to ruin Christmas for millions of passengers trying to see loved ones and businesses who rely on festive trade at this crucial time of year.

“As with every other strike day, we will continue to run the best service possible for those people whose travel is absolutely necessary, but with services extremely limited I’d urge people to really consider other options. Any trains which do run will be very busy and will finish by early evening. 

"We know how frustrating this period will be for passengers as RMT 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 Manchester and around the wider region 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.