The RMT union has announced strike action affecting Avanti West Coast on 31 December and 2 January, along with all Sundays from 12 January to 25 May 2025. On these dates, our timetables and operating hours will be significantly reduced and trains that do run are expected to be busy.
This New Year, we strongly recommend you travel either side of the strike dates. If you booked tickets to travel with Avanti West Coast on 31 December or 2 January before the industrial action was announced on 17 December, you can now use them to travel any time from Monday 30 December to Saturday 4 January inclusive. Alternatively, if you no longer wish to travel due to the strike action, you can claim a full refund of your prebooked tickets from where you bought them. Find out more below.
To minimise the number of people disrupted, we suspend ticket sales for strike days as soon as they're announced. Online journey planners now correctly show the amended strike timetables for 31 December and 2 January. Tickets are also back on sale, although we recommend you travel either side of the strike dates.
For the upcoming strikes on Sundays from 12 January to 25 May 2025, we’ll provide more information on your ticket options and our expected service as soon as possible.
We’re disappointed with this industrial action and we are sorry for the inconvenience it will cause. Please continue to check our website for updates.
Your ticket options
This New Year, we strongly recommend you travel either side of the strike dates. Click below to see when you can travel using your existing ticket.
Strike day timetables
This New Year, we strongly recommend you travel either side of the strike dates.
To minimise the number of people disrupted, we suspend ticket sales for strike days as soon as they're announced. Online journey planners now correctly show the amended strike timetables for 31 December and 2 January. Tickets are also back on sale, although we recommend you travel either side of the strike dates.
During the strike action on 31 December, the timetable will be significantly reduced due to the impact of engineering work on top of industrial action. We plan to run three trains per hour to and from London Euston: one to each of Birmingham, Manchester and Preston (with a limited service extending to Glasgow). Trains to and from Manchester and Preston are going a different route to normal, avoiding engineering work in the Crewe area. We’ll also run one train every other hour between Liverpool and Crewe.
On 2 January, we plan to run three trains per hour to and from London Euston: one to each of Wolverhampton (via Birmingham), Crewe and Manchester. We’ll also run a limited service between Glasgow and Preston.
Due to engineering work on this date, there were no planned Avanti West Coast trains to Liverpool, with replacement buses running instead. Due to the industrial action, our trains aren’t able to run via the planned diversionary route through the North West into Scotland.
On both dates, trains will run during limited hours, with the first train of the day departing Euston around 8am and the last train of the day from Euston departing before 5pm.
The significantly reduced timetables on 31 December and 2 January will mean North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh have no Avanti West Coast services. On 31 December only, there will be no Avanti West Coast trains to or from Macclesfield and on 2 January only, there’s no Avanti West Coast service to or from Warrington Bank Quay or Wigan North Western.
For the upcoming strikes on Sundays from 12 January to 25 May 2025, we’ll provide more information on your ticket options and our expected service as soon as possible.
Engineering work
Network Rail are carrying out major upgrade work over the festive period. Visit our Christmas page to find out more and plan your journey.
