Northern issues ‘Do Not Travel’ warning to Manchester passengers ahead of strike-hit start to 2023

Train operator Northern has issued a warning to passengers - including in Manchester - to avoid travelling during the first week of January. This comes as five strike days by either RMT or ASLEF are set to go ahead in the opening days of the new year.

Strikes by the two trade unions will bring services across the network to a near standstill from Tuesday (January 3) through to Saturday, January 7. RMT will strike on January 3/4 and 6/7, whilst ASLEF will take industrial action on January 5.

The strike action is a continuation of the ongoing dispute led by the train unions. The first days of industrial action took place in the summer and have continued intermittently throughout 2022. This will now likely continue further into 2023 unless a deal can be reached.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “This is a most regrettable start to 2023 and we can only apologise to our customers whose return to work from the holidays will be disrupted by the action by the RMT and ASLEF.

“For many, Monday 9 January will be their first experience of our new timetable – which went live in December and includes an additional 3,000 services a week across our network.

“As such, we’re encouraging everyone to use the new ‘Check My Timetable’ feature on our website to see the changes specific to their local station.”