Arriva Rail North (ARN) Industrial Action Saturday 6 October, Saturday 13 October and Saturday 20 October 2018
1st October 2018
As you may be aware three further strike days have been called by RMT members affecting all ARN services in its Northern franchise area on Saturday 6 October, Saturday 13 October and Saturday 20 October 2018.
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 proposes to make to the role of conductors in the future. The strike runs from midnight Friday to midnight Saturday with services resuming as normal on Sunday 7 October, then from midnight Friday to midnight Saturday with services resuming as normal on Sunday 14 October, then from midnight Friday to midnight Saturday with services resuming as normal on Sunday 21 October. Disruption to rail services During the strike, Northern services will run to a revised timetable. These services will generally run between 7am and 7pm on Saturday 6, 13 and 20 October. Please refer to Northern's website at northernrailway.co.uk/strike for the latest travel updates. Northern is 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 days of the strike 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 has 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 is encouraging passengers to plan ahead using the latest travel information on their website at northernrailway.co.uk/strike. 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/industrialaction/, and via the home page and disruptions page On Twitter @TSYalerts Via Traveline on 01709 51 51 51 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.