Weekend train services are set to return to Bolton in November but the announcement of a new set of strikes means passengers will immediately suffer. Seamus McDonnell reports.

BOLTON train passengers will be hit by strikes as soon as weekend services return.

Representatives from Network Rail have confirmed that trains will run again after November 4, but an extension to the ongoing Saturday strikes and Northern’s ongoing Sunday cancellations mean only a limited number of services will operate.

Electrification work through Bolton overran by around two years, leading to a raft of issues and meaning engineers had to work through the weekend to get back on track.

While the work has been completed, trains during the weekend have been cancelled, with buses replacing them from Bolton stations. This will end in early November, although engineering work will continue overnight until the start of December.

Now, the RMT union has announced three more strikes in its long-term dispute with Northern, with the final strike - the 35th day of action over the current dispute - set for Saturday, November 10.

Staff will be told not to book any shifts for 24-hours a moved which has consistently reduced the number of available trains to just a third.

In a statement on the latest strike, this Saturday, a Northern spokesman said: “We expect to run around 30 percent of services and all customers are advised to plan carefully if they intend to travel on the rail network.

“Unfortunately, on some routes, we aren’t able to run services, while others have a limited service. On those routes where we are able to operate trains, we expect all services to be extremely busy. We also have replacement bus services available on some routes where trains aren’t running.”

In addition to the strikes, the company has been cancelling trains on a Sunday to make up for driver shortages. These cancellations generally hit passengers in the North West.

The strikes come down to a dispute between Northern and the RMT over changing the role of conductors on trains.

The union claims the introduction of driver-only operated services would be a major safety risk to passengers.

In September, both sides agreed to sit down for emergency talks with mediation firm ACAS for the second time, but discussions broke down before an agreement could be reached.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the union had “made every effort to get serious and meaningful talks going with Northern” - sometimes referred to by its official name Arriva Rail North.

“German-owned Northern Rail want to run nearly half a million trains a year without a safety critical guard on board in a move that would wreck both safety and access ‎to services, and they should listen to their front-line staff and pull back from that plan immediately,” Cash said.

“RMT has secured agreements on other English franchises that enshrine the guard guarantee. Similar agreements have also been reached in Wales and Scotland. Arriva Rail North need to do the right thing and come to an agreement that secures a guard on their trains too.”

In response, Richard Allan, deputy managing director for Northern, called the latest set of strikes “incredibly frustrating and disappointing” and claimed the RMT had been responsible for the collapse of mediation talks.

He explained: “The RMT changed its mind about what it would discuss between the first and second meetings at ACAS,

making it impossible to progress. We have offered to explore all options, including those RMT has agreed with other train operators, but they refuse to discuss these with Northern for reasons known only to them.

“We urge the RMT to suspend strikes, and get back round the table to talk about the options they agreed to discuss in the first meeting at ACAS.

“In the meantime, we will work towards running as many services as possible to minimise disruption for our customers.”

If no more strikes are arranged, Bolton passengers will have a full timetable on a Saturday from October 17.

However, benefits from the electrification programme - the scheme which caused so much disruption to travellers - will not be seen until May 2019 as Northern bosses make efforts to avoid the chaos which followed a last-minute timetable change this Summer.