Rail passengers on Avanti West Coast routes will face a “significantly reduced” service on New Year’s Eve due to a strike by train directors.
A dispute over rest days will see train directors who are members of the RMT union stand down on December 31 and January 2.
Avanti says the few trains running will be very busy and advises passengers to travel either side of the strike dates or seek a full refund if they choose not to travel due to the action .
The RMT said a sustained strike was “the only way to focus management’s attention on reaching a negotiated settlement”.
On New Year’s Eve, Avanti West Coast announces it will run one train per hour between Euston and Birmingham, Manchester and Preston, with a limited service to Glasgow.
It also says there will be one train running every two hours between Liverpool and Crewe.
North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh will not have Avanti West Coast services
Following the New Year walkouts, Avanti West Coast train managers are also planning to strike every Sunday from January 12 to May 25.
Avanti has more information on the disruption caused by the strikes on its website.
RMT members had initially planned to strike around Christmas, but this action was called off to consider a new offer.
However, the union said the revised proposal had been rejected by 83% of the 400 members involved in the dispute and new strike dates had been announced.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said Avanti had ignored train directors’ concerns by presenting an offer that members deemed “unacceptable”.
The union said members had rejected a proposal of £300 or more to managers to cover work on rest days such as Sundays.
“The company must present a revised proposal so we can avoid further strikes until 2025,” Mr Lynch said.
Kathryn O’Brien, executive director of customer services at Avanti West Coast, said the train company was “disappointed by the RMT’s call for strike action on December 31 and January 2”.
She added that she was grateful for customers’ “patience and understanding.”
Avanti and the RMT said they were willing to work together to resolve the dispute.
