Commuters travelling between Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Peterborough and London have been warned to expect disruption as railway workers strike for better conditions across the country.
The RMT along with TSSA and Unite have balloted their members for strike action which is due to take place today, Thursday August 18 and Saturday August 20. This will impact services in England and Scotland due to Network Rail signallers involvement.
Network Rail have warned passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary and it is understood that passengers travelling on the East Coast Main line will suffer from a reduced service. They say that trains will only operate between the hours of 07.30am and 6.30pm on both days.
READ MORE: Edinburgh ScotRail services to be slashed this week amid new train strikes
They added that there will be a team of specially qualified backup staff that will be able to ensure that the reduced services will run but they have warned that some area of the UK may be left with no rail access whatsoever. Less than half of the services between Edinburgh and London via Newcastle, York and Peterborough will operate.
Those holding an advance, off-peak or anytime tickets that will be impacted by the strikes have been informed that they will be able to use their tickets on the day before their journey or any other day until Tuesday August 23. They add that there may also be scope to change to a different date or to secure a refund if your train is cancelled or rescheduled.
Season ticket holders or those using a flexi season ticket will be able to claim compensation for the strike days vis the delay repay scheme. Network Rail have warned that there will also be some disruption to services on the morning of Friday 19 and Sunday 21.
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “It saddens me that we are again having to ask passengers to stay away from the railway for two days this week due to unnecessary strike action, when we should be helping them enjoy their summers. We have made a good and fair offer but, with the exception of our TSSA management grades who accepted the deal, our unions are refusing to let our employees have a say, and sadly that means more disruption on the rail network.
“We’ll run as many services as we can on Thursday and Saturday, but it will only be around a fifth of the usual timetable, so please only travel if absolutely necessary and if you must travel, plan ahead and check when your last train will be.”
LNER have said that the first train to leave Edinburgh and travelling to London will leave at 7:30am. Then one to two trains per hour to Newcastle and York and two trains most hours to London King's Cross.
The last train will leave Waverley at 12.30pm to London King's Cross, 3.30pm to York and 5.00pm to Newcastle. They add that catering services will be reduced and those requiring passenger assist to check ahead of travelling.
Edinburgh Live described how services provided by Scotrail would also be impacted on August 18 and 20. You can read more about this here.
You can visit the LNER website for updates here and Network Rail here.
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