Merseyrail make major change to Christmas service amid train strikes - including Boxing Day cancellations

Merseyrail have announced a major change to their planned Christmas timetable following the news more than 40,000 workers across Network Rail will go on strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Members of the RMT union will begin nationwide industrial action at 6pm on Christmas Eve and will not return until Tuesday December 27. Merseyrail staff are not part of the walk outs, but the strike will involve Network Rail staff who operate the signalling systems and maintenance on local lines.

As a result, Merseyrail have cancelled their Boxing Day service and the last trains on Christmas Eve will now finish at approximately 4.30pm - earlier than originally scheduled. The train operator had planned to run a 30-minute service across the network on December 26.

These changes to services will remain in place even if the industrial action is called off, as railway rostering arrangements mean that it will be impossible to reinstate trains at short notice. There will be no rail replacement buses in operation.

As previously announced, there will be no train services on Christmas Day.

There will be a normal weekday service on December 27, with trains starting when the industrial action ends, at 7:30am. A limited rail replacement bus service will be in operation from the busiest stations prior to that.

Summary of Merseyrail services over the Christmas period:

• Christmas Eve - Train services finish early, at approximately 4:30pm.
• Christmas Day - There are no trains running.
• Boxing Day - There are no trains running.
• 27 December - There will be a normal weekday service on 27 December with a slightly later start of approximately 7:30am. This is due to Network Rail strike action. A limited rail replacement bus service will be in operation from the busiest stations prior to 7am.
• New Year’s Eve - Train services finish early, at approximately 8pm
• New Year’s Day - A 30-minute Sunday service will run.

The December strike action by 14 operating companies will also have a significant impact on national services from Liverpool Lime Street - including Avanti West Coast, TransPennine and Northern trains.

Further industrial action is planned for January 3 and 4, and January 6 and 7. Details on what services Merseyrail will be providing will be announced nearer the time.