Avanti West Coast services on Sundays will be severely disrupted by strike action on Sundays until the end of May.

The disruption is due to last from Sunday, 12 January until Sunday, 25th May, and is due to Train Managers who work for Avanti West Coast and are members of the RMT union being called out on strike by their union.

As well as suspending services on strike days, Avanti West Coast will operate a reduced timetable with limited operating hours on the days before and after strike days.

That will result in a less frequent service and shorter hours of operation could result in busier trains.

Customers who cannot travel on either side of the strike days will be able to claim a full refund.

On most Sundays during the period set for strikes, planned engineering works will also be taking place which means that timetables for each strike date may vary, and they may take longer to be issued.

Sunday, 12th January

• There will be one train per hour between Euston and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston. The first service will depart from Euston after 8 am and the last train of the day will depart from Euston before 5 pm.
• There will be a limited service between Glasgow and Carlisle.
• Due to planned engineering work, a rail-replacement bus service will operate between Carlisle and Preston.
• Because of the strike, there will be no Avanti West Coast services to North Wales, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent, or Macclesfield.
• Because of planned engineering work, there will be no services to Lancaster, Oxenholme, or Penrith.

Customers with tickets for 12th January can use them any time on Saturday, 11th, Monday, 13th and Tuesday, 14th January.

If the tickets were booked before 17th December when the industrial action was announced, they can claim a full, fee-free refund from where they purchased their tickets.

The RMT Union originally called strike action for the 22nd, 23rd and 29th December, but was called off to allow Train Managers to vote on a new offer. Earlier last year, Avanti West Coast services were affected by strike action by members of the ASLEF union.

“We’re disappointed by the RMT calling strike action for an extended period when our customers may be working, visiting family and friends, or enjoying days out. As a result, they will face significantly disrupted journeys during this time. I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding. On the strike days we’ll have a reduced service, so customers with tickets for those days are strongly advised to travel on alternative dates or claim a full fee-free refund. We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”

Kathryn O’Brien, Executive Director of Customer Experience at Avanti West Coast