Rail strikes: Doncaster passengers warned of severe East Coast Main Line disruption

Network Rail says passengers should only travel if necessary on Saturday 1, Wednesday 5 and Saturday 8 October during national strike action.

A special, severely reduced timetable will operate along the East Coast Main Line between 7:30am and 6:30pm.

And passengers should plan ahead between Saturday 1 and Sunday 9 October, know their last train times and expect disruption, bosses have said.

On Saturday 1 October, trains will only run as far as York. Passengers planning to travel to places like Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick or Edinburgh are advised not to travel by train.

Major engineering work in Newcastle will continue as planned between Saturday 1 and Monday 10 October (inclusive) to bring better, more reliable journeys for passengers. This essential work will be going ahead despite the strikes to deliver the benefits as soon as possible and minimise future disruption. It means that on Saturday 8 October, no trains will run north of Newcastle.

There will also be changes to services throughout the week as workers return to their duties, so passengers should continue to check before they travel via National Rail or their train operator’s website.

Sarah Reid, East Coast Route Director for Network Rail, said: “It’s disappointing to see that our passengers are faced with a severely limited train service as unions embark on another round of strike action.

“Despite this, I’m pleased that we’re still pushing ahead with our major work in Newcastle to deliver smoother, more reliable journeys for passengers. Doing this work now will help us to keep the railway open for longer in the future and minimise disruption.

“Our advice to passengers who really need to take the train, especially those travelling north of York, is to plan ahead, check your journey and expect significant disruption throughout the week.”

For the latest updates, please visit networkrail.co.uk/industrial-action.

The strikes are the latest in by rail workers across the course of the summer, with a number of operators, including East Coast Main Line operator LNER among those badly hit by the disruption.