Rail services in parts of Northern England and Scotland are being restricted due to high levels of staff sickness and training backlogs.
TransPennine Express is introducing a temporary timetable with fewer services along the West Coast Mainline from September 12th.
The company said it would “offer customers more stability and security”.
Services in Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Lancaster, Edinburgh and Glasgow will be affected.
Nine services will be withdrawn and eight will be partially withdrawn, with full details available on the operator’s website.
The timetable changes follow months of disruption to passengers as services were canceled due to illness, Covid and ongoing national rail strikes.
Jerry Farquharson, service planning and performance director, apologized for “ongoing issues” and said a “combination of factors has placed unprecedented pressure on our ability to run a consistent service.”
“This temporarily changed timetable for our services between the North West of England and Scotland will help us offer greater stability and security for customers traveling on this route,” he said.
“We have taken steps to communicate this revised timeline to all affected customers and believe that by rolling out this timeline we will help customers have more confidence and peace of mind.”
The timetable will be introduced three days ahead of planned strike action by train drivers from the Aslef union at 12 railway companies, which will pull out on September 15 for pay.
This Aslef action coincides with a withdrawal from the RMT union, which this week announced rail workers would take part in further strikes on September 15-17 amid a long-running dispute over wages, roles and working conditions.
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