Warnings as strikes set to create chaos
DRIVERS have been warned that roads across Greater Manchester will be busier next week as rail staff are set to stage a national walkout over pay and job cuts. And travellers using rail networks have been urged to plan ahead and find alternative travel, with limited services operating throughout the region.
Transport for Greater Manchester have urged passengers to avoid taking the train around the region on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It comes as the few services operating could also reportedly face last minute cancellations or delays.
The strikes are also set to impact rail journeys throughout the rest of the week too. It follows on from weeks of weekend strikes that have caused travel chaos across the country, with fewer and much busier services. Passengers have been warned tickets will not be accepted on bus or Metrolink services.
An update on the Transport for Greater Manchester website also confirmed that Piccadilly Station will only be open from 7am-7pm every day. It read: “The rail union [RMT] has announced that there will be three days of national strike action on the railway network on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June.
“Across the three days, an extremely limited rail service will operate, and passengers are advised they should not plan to make a journey by train. Any services which do operate will be very busy and could be cancelled at the last minute.
“It’s also anticipated that the strikes will impact rail journeys on Monday 20, Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Sunday 26 June. If you’re making a journey on any of these days, we advise you to purchase your ticket in advance, regularly check the status of your journey, arrive early for your train and expect services to be busier than normal. There is no ticket acceptance in place on bus or Metrolink services. You will need to purchase a separate bus or Metrolink ticket for your journey.”
TfGM said they would also be operating additional double tram services across the network on the affected dates in order to create extra capacity on the network.