Rail strikes: Avanti West Coast facing major disruption this Sunday – which lines are affected?

Passengers are being warned of major disruptions on Avanti West Coast (AWC) rail routes every Sunday from this weekend until 25 May.

Train managers for Avanti who are part of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are launching a walkout campaign from Sunday 12 January in a dispute over rest day working.

Here is everything you need to know.

What impact will the strikes have this Sunday?

There will be a significantly reduced timetable with fewer services running during limited operating hours.

Here are the changes expected:

• Avanti will run one train an hour between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston
• A limited service will operate between Glasgow and Carlisle
• 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 following areas will have no Avanti services:

• North Wales
• Blackpool
• Edinburgh
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Lancaster and Oxenholme and Penrith in the Lake District will also have no Avanti service due to planned engineering work.

What will the impact be long-term?

Every Sunday from now until 25 May, a reduced timetable will be in place on the strike days, with fewer services running during limited operating hours.

But Avanti has warned that most of the Sunday strikes coincide with planned engineering works, meaning the timetables for each strike date may vary and take longer to be finalised.

What has Avanti said?

It has urged its customers to try and avoid travelling on Sundays until the strikes conclude.

It adds customers who do travel should plan ahead, expect disruption, and check the details of their last train home.

Kathryn O’Brien, Avanti’s executive director of customer experience, said: “We’re disappointed by the RMT calling strike action for an extended period when our customers may be working, visiting family and friends, or enjoying days out.

“As a result, they will face significantly disrupted journeys during this time.

“I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.

“On the strike days, we’ll have a reduced service, so customers with tickets for those days are strongly advised to travel on alternative dates or claim a full fee-free refund. We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”

What has the RMT said?

“Our members have resoundingly rejected Avanti’s latest offers in two referendums and sustained strike action is now the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement with the union,” a spokesperson said.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, who announced his retirement on Thursday, previously said: “Avanti West Coast created this dispute by ignoring train managers’ concerns and presenting offers those members deemed unacceptable.

“The company must come forward with a revised proposal so we can avoid more strike action further into 2025.”