This week will see the return of rail strikes as 15 train operators are set to stage two 48-hour walkouts.
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators are expected to walk out from tomorrow Tuesday 3 January and Friday 6 January while drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday. No services are expected to run at all on January 5.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he hoped the new year could bring moves towards a deal but that he had received “radio silence” from the Government since mid-December.
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“I hope we can all work towards a deal but we haven’t heard from anyone formally since mid-December,” Mr Lynch said
“The Government simply will not give a mandate to the employers, Network Rail and the train operators that will allow this deal to be resolved. They’re sitting on their hands and are noted by their absence from this scene. They keep saying that they’re facilitating a deal. And I think it’s absolutely the opposite to that.
“They’ve put a block on the deal and they’re an obstacle rather than a facilitator.”
He said that “sensible” proposals would mean that the ongoing disruption could be brought to an end.
“Everybody keeps telling me that I’ve caused massive disruption and I’m against the spirit of Christmas and all the rest of it.
“We don’t want disruption, we want a settlement. There’s been too much disruption on the railway caused by government policy and if we can get sensible proposals we can work up towards a solution.”
All operators who run services through Greater Manchester will be affected by these strikes, with all issuing advice on what to do if you had already planned travel. Many are accepting tickets for the strike days on different days this week, or allowing a full refund. Here's everything you need to know:
Manchester Piccadilly, the second busiest station in the United Kingdom outside London, will see just four trains leave per hour during the RMT strikes on January 3-4, and 6-7.
Services will start at the later time of 7.30am, with the last departures by 5pm. There will also be very few trains running on Thursday, January 5, due to the ASLEF train drivers' strike.
On all days, passengers have been told to only travel if 'absolutely necessary', with widespread disruption expected. There will be just two trains running per hour at Piccadilly, compared with an average of 30 on a normal weekday.
Manchester Piccadilly station itself will close entirely by 6.30pm, with passengers being warned not to get caught out by the much earlier finish. Then, on January 5, train drivers in the ASLEF union will go on strike at 15 train companies across the country.
It will mean no trains at all for the following operators which run services in and out of Manchester Piccadilly:
Avanti West Coast
Northern
TransPennine Express
East Midlands Railway
CrossCountry
Transport for Wales, which is not part of the ASLEF dispute, will run a limited service on that day but is expected to be extremely busy as a result.
Passengers who must travel should check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly what to expect and for further ticket and refund information.
What each Greater Manchester operator says
Avanti West Coast
A statement on their website says: “On these dates, customers should expect our timetable and operating hours to be reduced significantly, and note that services that do run are expected to be extremely busy. We strongly advise you to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary on strike days 3, 4, 6 and 7 January. If your journey is essential, please plan ahead as your entire journey will likely be severely disrupted. The days after industrial action will also be affected.
One train will be running per hour on strike days, except Thursday 5 January, from Euston to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston, with a limited service onwards to Glasgow. These trains will operate during limited hours, with the first train of the day departing Euston at 8.30am and the last train of the day from Euston departing mid-afternoon. Trains will not be calling at Stockport or Macclesfield.
To minimise the number of people disrupted, they have suspended sales of tickets for strike dates. And those who booked tickets to travel on the strike days before the industrial action was announced can claim a full, fee-free refund, or they can use the tickets on alternative dates. If you have a ticket booked for this week with Avanti West Coast, but just want to amend the date go to their website at www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help-and-support/change-journey.
How to claim a refund
Customers can claim a full refund with no admin fees from their point of purchase. If a ticket was bought from the Avanti West Coast website or app a full refund can be claimed here: https://railhelp.co.uk/avantiwestcoast/refunds.
If the ticket was bought from an app or website, such as Trainline, a refund will need to be claimed through their app/website. Alternatively, if a ticket was bought from a station, head back there with your ticket for a full refund with no admin fee.
An advance ticket can also be exchanged for a voucher, valid for 12 months up until 30 September 2022. Visit the refunds page and choose ‘I have an Advance ticket’ to find out how to request a voucher.
For more information and a revised timetable for Avanti West Coast services head to their website www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/plan-your-journey/strike.
Cross Country
On strike days, except Thursday 5 January, CrossCountry should run one train per hour from Manchester. However, the service will stop in Southampton, rather than Bournemouth, and will not stop at Stockport, Macclesfield or Stoke-on-Trent.
Customers who have bought Advance tickets on any of the strike days are valid up to and including January 10.
How to claim a refund
For advance tickets purchased with CrossCountry using the website or Train Tickets app tickets can be amended without paying a £10.00 admin fee. However, advance tickets are non-refundable unless the service purchased is cancelled.
Tickets can be exchanged for Rail Travel Vouchers, which are valid for 12 months from the date of issue by emailing customer.relations@crosscountrytrains.co.uk. To apply for a refund contact the CrossCountry support team head to their website here: www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/customer-service/contact-us-and-faqs.
Revised timetables can be found on the CrossCountry website: www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/disruption.
Northern
Customers are advised not to travel by Northern on the strike days, with no Northern trains on Thursday 5 January.
A statement on their website says: “On strike days, only travel by rail if necessary and if you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead - especially the first and last trains of the day.
“If you do decide to travel, there will be very limited services running across the whole rail network so remember to check your entire journey as other train service providers may be affected.”
Some services will run a limited timetable which can be found on the Northern website: www.northernrailway.co.uk/travel/strikes.
How to claim a refund
Customers can request a fee-free change of journey for all ticket types if the train is cancelled or delayed, or rescheduled from that in the published timetable of the day after you have purchased a ticket, via the refunds requests page: https://northernrailway.force.com/s/article/Refund-Requests
All refund requests must be made within 28 days of the ticket expiry date, and if you have a physical ticket this will need to be returned to the ticket retailer in order to obtain a refund.
If the ticket was bought from an app or website, such as Trainline, a refund will need to be claimed through their app/website. If the ticket was bought through Northern, head to their website to find on how to claim a refund.
TransPennine Express
A statement on their website reads: “While a very limited service will be running on some lines, we are advising customers to only travel during the strike action if journeys are essential. We will not be running any services on 5 January.”
Customers are advised to ‘check before you travel’. For a timetable on the Manchester Airport to Preston and Manchester Piccadilly to York route, head to their website.
How to claim a refund
TPE says if you choose not to use your ticket and return it to where you bought it from they you will be entitled to a full refund. TPE will not charge you an administration fee for this.
To get the refund, unused tickets should be returned to where they were purchased from. If you purchased your ticket directly with TPE, you can apply for a refund either online tpexpress.co.uk/help/refunds or by calling the customer relations team 0345 600 1671.
Transport for Wales
A statement on their website reads: “Transport for Wales is not involved in the industrial action. However, the industrial action resulting from the dispute between the unions and Network Rail means we’ll be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure.”
How to claim a refund
Customers can claim a full refund for tickets to travel between these dates with no admin fee charged. Season ticket holders can apply for a 2 hour delay compensation via the Delay Repay website which can be found here https://tfw.wales/help-and-contact/rail/delay-repay. For full refund information, and who to contact, visit https://tfw.wales/help-and-contact/rail/refunds.
East Midlands Railway
In a statement on their website, they said: “If you are planning to travel during this time it is important to check your journey as we will be operating a significantly reduced service on strike days and we will not operate any services on 5 January. Only travel by rail if absolutely necessary and if you do travel, expect severe disruption.”
On strike days EMR services will run between the hours of 0730 – 1830 only. Services will start later and finish earlier than usual with the last departures starting between 1500 and 1630. Please ensure you check the time of the first and last return train before you travel.
How to claim a refund
If you purchased your ticket from EMR online, you can apply for your refund. You can apply for a refund through this website: https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/help-manage/manage/refund-your-ticket. If you purchased your ticket from an EMR station, please return to the station within 28 days of the travel date for a refund.
If you purchased your ticket from another provider, you will need to approach them directly.
Alternatives for travel in Greater Manchester
On the strike dates, Manchester Piccadilly rail station will close at 7pm. However, Metrolink services will operate as normal with varied access being implemented during the strike.
Meanwhile, Stockport rail station will be closed on each of the strike days, with commuters being unable to access or pass through the station, respectively. Transport for Greater Manchester has advised commuters to use Greek Street/King Street West instead as the underpass at Stockport will be unavailable.
Will the trams be running?
Metrolink services will continue to operate on strike days, though some services will operate at different times due to the industrial action.
Services between Altrincham and Timperley will only operate from 7am to 7pm on the strike dates with a 12-minute frequency. The services will operate as follows:
6am to 7am - Timperley to Piccadilly every 12 minutes.
A replacement bus service will operate between Timperley and Altrincham at a 12-minute frequency.7am to 7pm - Timperley to Piccadilly every 12 minutes. Altrincham to Bury every 12 minutes. This means that there will be a service between Timperley and the city centre every six minutes.
After 7pm - Timperley to Piccadilly every 12 minutes.
A replacement bus service will operate between Timperley and Altrincham at a 12-minute frequency.
Access to Piccadilly tram stop will change before 7am and after 7pm on strike days.
Access to the Metrolink stop during the closure will be via the walkway adjacent to the taxi pick up point on Fairfield Street, with level access to the Manchester bound platform and the Ashton bound platform via the track crossing next to Fairfield Street.
Will buses be running?
Bus services will operate normally during the strike. Transport for Greater Manchester announced that no ticket acceptance will be in place during the strike - a separate bus ticket for the journey will need to be bought.
Parking around Manchester during the strikes
TfGM expects congestion around Greater Manchester to be worse than usual due to the strikes as fewer people are likely to use public transport. Because of this, it is encouraging people to use park and ride sites in Greater Manchester where commuters can leave their car for part of their journey and use the tram into the city centre.
Here's a list of some of the largest Park and Ride sites all across Greater Manchester:
Derker - 235 spaces
East Didsbury - 278 spaces
Hazel Grove - 400 spaces
Oldham - 238 spaces
Radcliffe - 480 spaces
Rochdale - 202 spaces
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