Train companies in Shropshire gear up for impact of strikes and pressure from racing and Eurovision
A company that runs trains to and through Shropshire is reminding passengers of the importance of checking for the latest travel information with industrial action and major events taking place this week.
The train drivers’ union ASLEF has announced strike action on Friday, May 12, while The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced strike action at 14 train operating companies on Saturday, May 13.
Although TfW is not involved in industrial action some of its services are likely to be extremely busy as a result of the severely-reduced timetable put in place by other operators.
These include West Midlands Railway, which runs services from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, and Avanti West Coast which runs services from Shrewsbury into London.
Neither WMR nor Avanti will be running services on Friday if the action goes ahead and there will be a reduced service on Saturday.
On Friday TfW says it will run as timetabled however its route from Shrewsbury to and from Birmingham International will be very busy as it picks up passengers from other operators.
Additionally the Chester Races will mean services to and from the city will be very busy, especially on the Friday strike day.
On Saturday some TfW services will be busier than usual as they are disrupted.
Wolverhampton will be open for services between 7am and 7pm only. Services will originate/terminate at Birmingham New Street instead of Birmingham International outside of these hours.
Manchester services will originate/terminate at Shrewsbury instead of Manchester Piccadilly outside of these hours.
Birmingham services will originate/terminate at Birmingham New Street instead of Birmingham International outside of these hours.
Train operators including TfW will be planning to keep services running to Liverpool for the Eurovision song contest on Saturday.
TfW will be running an hourly service between Chester and Liverpool Lime Street between the hours of 7am and 7pm on Saturday May 13.
After 7pm there will be an hourly service to Liverpool South Parkway where passengers can change for Merseyrail services into central Liverpool. This is due to there being no dispatchers after 7pm at Liverpool Lime Street due to the industrial action.
More strike days are planned for May 31 and June 3.
