Train operator Northern has issued an urgent 'do not travel' warning to passengers ahead of further planned strikes on the railways next week.
The two 48-hour walk-outs by members of the RMT union, which will take place on December 13-14 and 16-17, coupled with the knock-on impact of a December 15 strike in between, 'means an effective five-day travel ban for rail users', said Northern in a statement issued on Thursday.
There are fears, meanwhile, that disruption to rail services in northern England will continue when new timetables are introduced from Sunday. A number of routes which suffered cuts earlier this year are expected to get more trains scheduled.
But there is concern that a failure to resolve staffing issues means the cancellation of thousands of trains in recent months will continue. Many rail workers are refusing to volunteer for shifts on their rest days amid long-running industrial relations disputes, and there is also a backlog with training new staff due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, providing local and regional services to more than 500 stations in the north.
The operator said that during the period next week 'all but a handful of services will be cancelled' and the 'vast majority' of its stations closed.
Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: "This is the last thing we want to do in the run-up to Christmas, but with the RMT pressing ahead with these 48-hour strikes, we have no option but to advise customers not to travel. We can only apologise once again for the disruption their action will cause."
Routes that will have services running hourly between 7.30am and 6.30pm include:
Leeds to Sheffield via Wakefield Westgate
Leeds to York via Micklefield
Leeds to Bradford Forster Square
Leeds to Skipton
Leeds to Ilkley
Liverpool to Manchester Airport
Northern added: "Customers should check before they travel if planning to use one of these skeleton services.
"On Sunday, 11 December Northern's new timetable comes into effect and all customers, especially those who have made regular journeys on the same train times, are advised to check online journey planners before they travel to ensure their service operates at the same time and calls at the same stations."
Operators have often resorted to removing trains from schedules the night before - so-called 'P-coded' trains - meaning they are not officially classed as cancelled.
Timetable changes by TransPennine Express (TPE) - one of the companies affected by staffing problems - include reintroducing services between Manchester and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line and extending the route between Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire and Manchester to serve Liverpool.
Avanti West Coast is planning a 40 per cent increase in services from around 190 daily trains to 264, after cutting its schedules in August to limit short-notice cancellations.
In each direction, the London Euston-Manchester route will return to three trains per hour, while London Euston-Birmingham will get two trains per hour plus a third at peak times. There will also be more direct services between the capital and North Wales via Chester.
Northern, meanwhile, said it was making 'significant changes' to the times and routes of its services in north-west England. This is partly aimed at improving the reliability of trains in the Manchester area, and making them more regularly spaced.
Northern warned passengers that 'a small number of trains' may be temporarily cancelled up to 48 hours before the date of travel while 'we adjust our resources to the new timetable'.
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