FESTIVAL FRUSTRATION
EIGHT MAJOR EVENTS ACROSS NORTH SET TO BE DISRUPTED BY RAIL CANCELLATIONS
A PERFECT storm of strike action, driver shortages and engineering work will hit Northern rail passengers this Bank Holiday weekend – affecting those heading to EIGHT festivals in the north of England.
Among them are Manchester Pride, Creamfields and Leeds Festival. The disruption will also cause major disruption for services to Bolton Food and Drink Festival, The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne, Redcar Races, Cartmel Races and the York Ebor Festival.
With cancelled trains from stations across the north into Manchester set to affect Pride, those heading to Creamfields have been left with a two-hourly service, with the last train from Warrington leaving at 6.24pm.
Meanwhile, those heading to Leeds festival will find there are no direct Northern services, and are being advised to use TransPennine instead. This means they will be very busy.
For those who aren’t planning to camp or stay overnight, it could make getting home a challenge. It had been hoped that last-ditch talks between the union RMT and operator bosses might resolve the ongoing dispute over guards on trains. But it has now been confirmed strike action will go ahead on Saturday – slashing 70 per cent of all services. Bosses have warned some routes will have ‘no services at all.’ And Northern is also preparing to cancel services this Sunday due to a driver shortage – for the fifth weekend in a row. Network Rail engineering works on the Bolton corridor for the ManchesterPreston electrification over the weekend and into Bank Holiday Monday will add to the disruption.
On top of that, London Euston station will be closed this weekend, meaning Manchester-London trains on the West Coast Mainline will not run. As a result, passengers are advised to check before they travel – and use other transport where needed.
Liam Sumpter, regional director for Northern, said: “We plan to run as many services as possible on Saturday, but there will be fewer trains operating than on previous days of RMT strike action and we want all customers to be fully aware of the amended timetable.
“Some routes will have no services at all, while others will have a limited service.
“On those routes where we are able to operate trains, we expect all services to be extremely busy.”
Across the north of England there are a number of major events taking place this weekend and customers should be aware of the impact the amended timetables will have on travel to and from those events.
● To find how the changes will affect Manchester Pride, Creamfields, Leeds Festival – and other Bank Holiday events – go to manchesterevening news.co.uk