Arriva Rail North (ARN) Industrial Action Friday 28 April 2017

27th April 2017

As you may be aware a further strike has been called by RMT members affecting all ARN services in its Northern franchise area on Friday 28 April 2017.

Previous strikes called by RMT members took place on 13 March and 8 April 2017. On 28 April, services on the wider network are expected to be busier than usual due to the May Bank Holiday weekend, and Stage 1 of the Tour de Yorkshire taking place between Bridlington and Scarborough. As the strike is expected to cause significant disruption to all Northern train services, we are encouraging colleagues and our customers, who travel by rail, to plan their journey in advance. Why is the strike happening? Arriva Rail North employees are striking in response to Northern's plan to modernise the region's rail services and the changes Northern need to make to the role of conductors in the future. The 24-hour strike runs between midnight Thursday and midnight Friday. Disruption to rail services During the strike, Northern services will run to a revised timetable. Please refer to Northern's website at northernrailway.co.uk/industrial-action for the latest travel updates. Northern are providing some replacement bus services and these details are available on their website. It is expected that alternative rail routes, as well as buses, trams and roads in South Yorkshire will be busier than usual on the day of the strike as a result of the Bank Holiday weekend and as passengers alter their journey plans. As a consequence, journey times are expected to be longer. To mitigate the impact of potential further industrial action, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) continues to proactively work with Northern to strengthen provision of revised rail services and aid effective links to local bus services in the event. How is this being communicated to customers Northern have already started to inform their customers of the upcoming strike via: Information on the Northern Rail website Strike notifications and posters at station ticket offices Tailored posters within each rail station advising customers how the station will be affected by the strike, alternative travel options where available, and where to find out more information Adverts in local media Leaflets - handed out at major stations and available for customers at smaller staffed stations Northern staff presence at stations to answer any questions E-mails and letters to Northern's customers, stakeholders and local authorities. Planning ahead and how to help Northern are encouraging passengers to plan ahead using the latest travel information on their website at northernrailway.co.uk/industrial-action. The National Rail Enquiries (NRE) website will also provide live, real-time train information across all operators, and NRE journey planning tools will be updated with Northern's revised timetables ahead of the strike. SYPTE will support passengers affected by the industrial action by providing up to date information via Travel South Yorkshire channels as follows: On the TSY website travelsouthyorkshire.com/industrial-action, and via the home page and disruptions page On Twitter @TSYalerts Via Traveline on 01709 51 51 51 (open from 8am 8pm on Friday 28 April 2017 to help as many customers as possible, during peak periods) By e-mail to subscribers of Travel South Yorkshire rail timetable updates At interactive kiosks and customer service desks at Travel South Yorkshire interchanges It would be appreciated if you could please help to advise customers of the upcoming strike, and encourage them to check for the latest travel information before they travel.