Picket line at Manchester Piccadilly as passengers face disruption due to strike

Train managers are picketing outside Piccadilly station this afternoon with passengers being warned to expect disruption every Sunday until the end of May.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Avanti West Coast are taking strike action following a dispute over their pay for working on rest days. Union members say they will walk out every Sunday until May 25.

Talks between the rail operator and the union were held last week, but the union claimed that the 'company failed to table any new proposals'. Today is the first day of the industrial action.

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The union posted on X: "RMT Avanti Train Managers at Manchester Piccadilly station on the picket line fighting for a fair settlement for working their rest-days." A reduced timetable will be in place on the strike days – with fewer services running during limited operating hours.

As a result, the trains which will run are expected to be busy. With planned engineering works taking place on most of these Sundays, timetables for each strike date may vary and take longer to be finalised.

Today, Avanti West Coast will run one train per hour between Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston. A limited service will operate between Glasgow and Carlisle. In addition, rail replacement buses will run between Carlisle and Preston due to planned engineering work.

These trains will operate during limited hours – with the first train of the day departing Euston after 8am and the last train of the day from Euston departing before 5pm. The significantly reduced timetable