‘Do not travel’ warning by rail operator during new year strike action

A Northern train at a station (Image: Northern)

A train operator has issued fresh ‘Do Not Travel’ guidance for the first week of 2023.

Northern has issued the warning following the announcement of strike action by the RMT and ASLEF trade unions will bring services to a halt from Tuesday, January 3 to Saturday, January 7.

Northern trains service stations across East Lancashire including BlackburnDarwen, Accrington, Burnley and Clitheroe.

Chief operating officer, Tricia Williams said: “This is a most regrettable start to 2023 and we can only apologise to our customers whose return to work from the holidays will be disrupted by the action by the RMT and ASLEF.

“For many, Monday 9 January will be their first experience of our new timetable – which went live in December and includes an additional 3,000 services a week across our network.

“As such, we’re encouraging everyone to use the new ‘Check My Timetable’ feature on our website to see the changes specific to their local station.”

The industrial action taking place includes two 48-hour walk outs by the RMT on January 3, 4, 6 and 7 while ASLEF members are staging a one-day strike on January 5.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.