The 'biggest rail strike in modern history' will take place this week, with more than 50,000 railway workers set to walk out across three days.
The whole country will be affected as RMT union members from Network Rail and 13 train firms take part in the industrial action. We've rounded up everything you need to know and how Merseyside will be affected by the action.
Why are these strikes taking place?
The Rail and Maritime Workers Union (RMT) is holding the strike action in opposition to what it says are plans by Network Rail to cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a £2bn reduction in spending. The proposed job cuts include workers who maintain tracks, signals and overhead lines. The union also says train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and says workers have been treated 'appallingly.'
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Network Rail says it is “doing everything we can” to avoid the strike action. Phil James, North West route director at Network Rail, said: “We continue to meet with the trades unions to discuss their pay concerns and will do all we can to avoid strike action which has the potential to cause misery to hundreds of thousands of Merseyrail passengers throughout the week.
When are the first strikes taking place?
The RMT union announced its plan to 'shut down the country's railway network' with national walk-outs on Tuesday (21), Thursday (23) and Saturday (25) June. All dates will see Network Rail and staff from 13 other companies on strike. The June 21 action will also include London Underground staff.
How will Merseyside routes and railways be affected?
This is the big question for people in our region. Unfortunately, the bad news is there will be a huge impact on our local routes and those going in and out of the region. This week we revealed the entire Merseyrail network will shut down on the three strike days.
Whilst Merseyrail staff are not taking part in the industrial action, it will involve Network Rail staff who operate the signalling systems and provide crucial maintenance which allow services to run safely. The operator says it is unable to provide any train services on days when industrial action is taking place. There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days and passengers are advised to make alternative travel arrangements.
Merseyrail said while trains will run on the days between the strikes next week, there will be knock on impacts going into the post-strike days. Replacement buses will be used for the first morning services on Wednesday and Friday, with normal trains running again from 7am.
It's not much better news for operators that run trains in and out of our region. Services that do run will start and finish much earlier than usual, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, with train operators expecting to run very limited timetables. The operators have told passengers to not travel on the strike days unless absolutely necessary. Customers should try to find alternative transport to and from the city if their journey is essential.
Three train operators into the city - Northern Trains, TransPenine Express and Avanti West Coast - have all said they will be running hugely reduced services on the strike days which will also have a knock-on effect on the days in-between. Northern Trains asked customers not to travel at all on services between June 21 and 26. The train operator is going to run a limited service between Alderley Edge and Lime Street with the last train arriving in the city at 6.21pm.
Avanti West Coast expects to run 25% of its typical timetable on June 21 and 23 and a third of its typical Saturday timetable on June 25. It expects to run one train per hour from Euston to Liverpool and customers are advised to only travel if necessary and to expect severe disruption. TransPenine Express also urged travellers to only make essential journeys with only 10% of their usual timetable running on the affected days.
