Because of coordinated industrial action by multiple rail unions, passengers intending to travel on the East Coast Main Line by train next week should plan ahead and only travel by train if necessary.

On Saturday, 1st October, no trains will operate north of York, whilst on Saturday, 8th October, no trains will operate north of Newcastle.

On Wednesday, 5th October, there will only be a very limited special timetable on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross, Peterborough, Doncaster, York, and Edinburgh, and trains will only run between 7:30am and 6:30pm.

On non-strike days, there is likely to be further disruption because of knock-on effects of the strikes and as workers return to their duties. Passengers intending to travel on those days should continue to check before they travel via National Rail at networkrail.co.uk/industrial-action or on their train operator’s website.

Between Saturday, 1st and Monday, 10th October, major engineering work is scheduled to take place in Newcastle. Despite the strikes, that work will go ahead as planned to bring better and more reliable journeys for passengers, to deliver the benefits as soon as possible, and to minimise future disruption. For further information about the work in Newcastle and how it affects journeys visit Newcastle track upgrade – Network Rail.

Sarah Reid, East Coast Route Director for Network Rail, said: “It’s disappointing to see that our passengers are faced with a severely limited train service as unions embark on another round of strike action.

“Despite this, I’m pleased that we’re still pushing ahead with our major work in Newcastle to deliver smoother, more reliable journeys for passengers. Doing this work now will help us to keep the railway open for longer in the future and minimise disruption.

“Our advice to passengers who really need to take the train, especially those travelling north of York, is to plan ahead, check your journey and expect significant disruption throughout the week.”