Warning over major Bank Holiday rail disruption

Rail passengers travelling over the August Bank Holiday weekend are being warned to expect significant disruption due to strike action and major engineering works.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has advised customers to make only "essential" journeys on Sunday and Monday after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced further industrial action in an ongoing dispute over the operator's new Aurora Class 810 fleet.

There are also planned engineering works on CrossCountry service routes near Birmingham and other works on the East Coast Main Line, with no services between Peterborough and London.

Passengers are being advised to check their journeys before setting off.

EMR said services would be "significantly reduced", operating between about 08:00 and 19:00 BST, and warned that queueing systems would be in place at Sheffield and London St Pancras stations.

Passengers have been told it may not be possible to board their intended train.

The dispute began in April, with the RMT raising concerns about faults on the new trains. EMR previously said no safety-critical faults had been identified that would prevent them carrying passengers.

After industrial action on three Saturdays in August, The RMT announced more strikes while what EMR called "constructive discussions" continued.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) said disruption would be compounded by planned engineering works across the network.

On Sunday, no direct LNER services will run between London King's Cross and Peterborough as part of signalling upgrade work.

Passengers travelling through Birmingham are being urged to check before they travel due to major HS2-related construction work.

Network Rail said work to install part of the new Saltley Viaduct will affect services between Birmingham New Street, Derby and Nuneaton from Saturday to Monday.

It added some journeys will take longer than usual and replacement buses will operate on parts of the route.

Routes affected include services linking Birmingham with Leicester, Nottingham, Peterborough, Cambridge, Stansted Airport, the North East, Scotland and the South West.

EMR customer experience director Philippa Cresswell previously apologised for the disruption and said discussions with the RMT were continuing.

The union has also announced further strike action on 16 and 17 September.

Passengers are being advised to check their journeys before setting off, allow extra time for travel and confirm first and last train times before travelling.

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