Edinburgh rail passengers have been warned to expect a weekend of travel chaos due to major strike action.
Avanti West Coast will begin a series of walkouts on Sunday, January 12, in a dispute over rest day working. As a result, the operator says none of its trains will serve Edinburgh.
As the Mirror reports, the walkout marks the start of industrial action every Sunday until May 25 with other cities such as London, Manchester and Glasgow also affected by a reduced timetable or cancelled services.
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On Avanti’s website it states: “Due to the strike action, no Avanti West Coast trains will serve North Wales, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent or Macclesfield on these dates. Other Avanti West Coast destinations in the Lake District are not being served due to planned engineering work.”
Avanti West Coast will run one train an hour between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston. A limited service will operate between Glasgow and Carlisle. Trains which will run are expected to be busy.
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Kathryn O’Brien, executive director of customer experience at Avanti West Coast, said: “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.”
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RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch announced his retirement after nearly three years at the head of the union. He had worked his way up the organisation after joining while working for Eurostar in 1993 and rose to become one of its most recognisable figures, even before taking the top job in 2021.
In a statement, 63-year-old Mr Lynch described it as a “privilege” to have served his members and said: “We can all be proud that our union stood up against the wholesale attacks on the rail industry by the previous Tory government and the union defeated them. RMT will always need a new generation of workers to take up the fight for its members and for a fairer society for all and I am immensely proud to have been part of that struggle.”