TransPennine: Passengers urged not to travel by train at Easter

RMT union members have already taken strike action in February and March

Passengers have been urged "not to travel by train" over the Easter weekend due to fears of "significant disruption" caused by strike action.

Rail services in northern England are to be hit by strikes each weekend until June over a long-running pay dispute.

TransPennine Express (TPE) said it was recommending people avoid train travel on Easter Saturday and Sunday.

This includes football fans heading to Wembley to watch the Manchester City v Liverpool FA Cup semi-final.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced strikes on every Sunday until 5 June, as well as Saturday 16 April (Easter), Saturday 30 April and Saturday 4 June (Jubilee).

It is due to an ongoing dispute over a large discrepancy in pay levels for conductors, RMT said.

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The rail operator will be operating a limited service on these dates and major infrastructure upgrades over the Easter bank holiday weekend will also mean fewer trains.

Kathryn O'Brien, customer experience director for TransPennine Express, said it "means there will be major disruption to our services over the bank holiday weekend".

"With major events including the Manchester City v Liverpool FA Cup semi-final planned to take place over the affected dates, we are urging people to plan ahead and seek alternative transport," she added.