Liverpool Lime Street station will close at 7pm on Saturday on the third day of national rail strikes.
Passengers planning on travelling this Saturday are being warned not to get caught out with trains finishing much earlier than normal. Many last trains will leave between 3pm and 5pm and arrive at their final destinations before 7pm.
The entire station will close completely at 7pm on Saturday evening. People are once again being advised to only travel by rail if necessary tomorrow (25 June) because of the continuing staff walkouts by RMT union members.
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Saturday represents the last of three initial strike days called by the RMT. 40,000 workers from Network Rail and a host of train operators walked out on Tuesday and Thursday and will do so again on Saturday.
The union says the action is taking place because Network Rail plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a £2bn reduction in spending, with proposed job cuts including workers who maintain tracks, signals and overhead lines. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said that railway workers have been 'treated appallingly' and are facing either losing their jobs or accepting another pay freeze during a cost of living crisis.
Network Rail says it 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. The 20% of trains which will be running will only operate between 7:30am and 6:30pm.
The entire rail network will be open on Sunday June 26 with around 60% of services running, but some disruption is still expected and passengers should continue to check before they travel. A full timetable will be in place on Monday June 27.
Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “We’ve been working hard all week negotiating with the RMT union and it’s hugely disappointing our two sides have not been able to reach a compromise, leading to a third, damaging day of strike action which will now impact weekend rail travel.
“I’m hugely sorry that people’s family and leisure time will be disrupted, and for those who will once again struggle getting to work. Our advice is to please only travel if you must and regularly check National Rail Enquiries as the few services which will be running will finish early in the afternoon and I don’t want people to be caught out unable to get home again from a day trip.”
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