Avanti West Coast strike to hit New Year's Eve trains

Rail passengers on Avanti West Coast routes will face a "significantly reduced" service on New Year's Eve due to a strike by train managers.

A dispute over rest days will see train managers who are members of the RMT union walk out on 31 December and 2 January.

Avanti says the few trains running will be very busy, and advises that passengers should travel either side of the strike dates or claim a full refund if they choose not to travel due to the action.

The RMT said sustained strike action was "the only way to focus management's minds on reaching a negotiated settlement".

On New Year's Eve, Avanti West Coast says it will run one train per hour between Euston and each of Birmingham, Manchester and Preston, with a limited service to Glasgow.

It also says it will run one train every other hour between Liverpool and Crewe.

North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh will have no Avanti West Coast services.

Following the walk-outs over the new year, train managers at Avanti West Coast are also planning to strike every Sunday from 12 January to 25 May.

Avanti has further information on disruption from the strikes on its website.

RMT members had orginally planned to strike around Christmas, but that action was called off to consider a new offer.

However, the union said the revised proposal was rejected by 83% of the 400 members involved in the dispute, and new strike dates were announced.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said Avanti had ignored train managers' concerns by presenting an offer that members found "unacceptable".

The union said members had rejected a proposal of £300 or more to managers to cover working on rest days such as Sunday.

"The company must come forward with a revised proposal so we can avoid more strike action further into 2025", Mr Lynch said.

Kathryn O'Brien, executive director of customer service at Avanti West Coast, said the rail company was "disappointed by the RMT calling strike action on 31 December and 2 January".

She added she was grateful for customers' "patience and understanding".

Both Avanti and the RMT said they were open to working with each other to resolve the dispute.