Passengers are being advised to plan their journeys ahead or avoid travelling by rail over the Easter holiday as TransPennine Express conductors go on strike.
TransPennine Express train conductors walked out on Sunday 3 April as part of ongoing pay disputes with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), and are due to do the same on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April. Walk-outs will also happen on 30 April and 4 June, as well as every Sunday from now until 5 June.
This follows previous walk-outs in February and March.
RMT regional organiser for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Gaz Jackson, said the 300 conductors who are affected by the dispute want a fair deal from the company and an enhancement of their overtime rates.
He continued: “What they’re asking for is a 2p payment for scanning tickets, which isn’t a massive thing to ask.”
Conductors’ request for a 2p rise to close the pay gap with other workers at the RMT had previously been declined.
Mr Jackson expressed his sympathies with passengers but said: “Ultimately, the blame lies with the company not engaging with the union.”
Other services will accept TransPennine tickets marked ‘AP TPE only’ or ‘TPE only’, as well as flexible tickets for off-peak times or anytime travel on strike days.
These services include: Northern, East Midlands Railway, LNER, CrossCountry, Transport for Wales, Lumo, Hull Trains, and ScotRail. Travellers should check which dates these rail services will accept TransPennine Express tickets and between which destinations ahead of their journey.
Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said: “We are saddened that strike action by RMT is set to cause further disruption to trains over the Easter weekend, at a time when people will be relying on our services to catch up with friends and family.
“We are instead urging customers to avoid travelling on both Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday and make their journeys either side of the strike dates.”
TransPennine Express advise passengers to check for updates up to the last minute as services may face short notice changes, and extra time should be given to journeys as the services they will still run are expected to be busier.
