TransPennine rail conductors strike to disrupt Easter travel

RMT union members on the TransPennine Express (TPE) took strike action in February and last month

Rail commuters are facing further disruption over the Easter weekend as conductors stage another strike in a long-running dispute over pay.

RMT union members on the TransPennine Express (TPE) are staging 24-hour walkouts on Saturday and Sunday.

The union said members were "standing firm" in the their fight for pay.

TPE, which runs services in northern England and Scotland, apologised for a "disastrous weekend" ahead and urged people to avoid travel on its routes.

The RMT said there was a large discrepancy in pay levels for conductors and other train crews for doing the same responsibilities, with the dispute affecting up to 270 members.

TPE urged passengers who must travel to plan ahead

Gaz Jackson, RMT's regional organiser for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, previously said they "just want a fair deal from the company" and an "enhancement of their overtime rates".

Members walked out in February and last month with further dates planned including 30 April and the Jubilee bank holiday in June.

Kathryn O'Brien, TPE's customer experience director, said: "It's disastrous for our customers and we are genuinely sorry.

"Customer numbers aren't where they were pre-Covid so the whole industry is looking at how do we recover from that and that includes financial recovery as well so it's very difficult."

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Services affected will hit routes around Liverpool, Manchester, Lancaster, Carlisle, Leeds, Hull, York, Scarborough, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Edinburgh via Huddersfield and Scotland via Preston.

Other rail service providers have agreed to carry TPE customers with tickets marked "AP TPE ONLY" or "TPE ONLY", as well as flexible tickets on days of strike action.