Passengers told to ‘make alternative travel arrangements’ as train drivers strike again this weekend
Passengers are being told to “make alternative arrangements” for travel as train drivers are set to strike again this weekend.
Following on from the announcement back in February that ASLEF train drivers at several train companies and operators, with Northern being one of them, had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to continue taking industrial action for another six months, members of the union are set to stage another strike this weekend.
Disruption, as is usually the case, is therefore also expected in the lead-up to and following the day drivers actually strike on Saturday (6 April).
Three separate days of ASLEF action are set to impact different train operators on different days, but Northern is mainly warning anyone planning to travel on Saturday 6 April that it will “not be able to operate” any services across the entirety of its network on that day.
Whilst Northern services are only affected on Saturday 6 April, other train operators face walk-outs by ASLEF members on Friday 5 April and Monday 8 April too.
Because of this, customers using the Northern network to make journeys that include connecting services on those days, as well as the days surrounding, are being advised to check all legs of their journey ahead of time.
Northern says it’s “disappointed” ASLEF members have chosen to stage more strikes this weekend, and will continue to do so in the coming months.
Advising passengers to “make alternative arrangements for travel” ahead of the strikes this Saturday, Tricia Williams, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Northern, said: “We are disappointed that ASLEF has chosen to call yet more strike action, and we would encourage them to work with the rail industry so we can put an end to this dispute.
“We can only apologise to customers in the meantime for the significant disruption and inconvenience this action by ASLEF will cause.”
When ASLEF announced its intention to continue taking industrial action for the foreseeable – which is separate to what is a very long-running dispute with the Department for Transport (DfT) over pay and working conditions – back in February, the union’s General Secretary, Mick Whelan, said he was “fed up to the back teeth with the bad faith shown” by train companies.
He added that train operators like Northern need to “stop what they are doing” and “start to behave properly and honourably”, because their drivers are “no longer prepared to be treated like this”.
Read more:
- ASLEF train drivers vote ‘overwhelmingly’ to continue strikes for another six months
- Co-op Live and TfGM to offer FREE trams and buses to and from new arena for all event ticket holders
- Government sets out next steps for ‘Northern Powerhouse Rail’ between Liverpool and Manchester
For more information on the strikes, and to see the latest travel updates for the next few days, check the Northern website here.
Featured Image – gov.uk