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Almost a month of rail travel disruption began on Tuesday, with the main train operator serving the Preston and Blackpool areas issuing a ‘do not travel’ warning for the rest of this week.

No services in the area from Northern meant Blackpool and the Fylde coast are completely without train services for the duration of the two 48-hour strikes from December 13 to 14 and December 16 and 17 by Network Rail and across 14 train companies after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) rejected a further pay offer.

Substantial disruption is also expected on Thursday, December 15 and further action will follow from Christmas Eve until Tuesday, December 27, while two more 48-hour strikes are planned for the beginning of January.

Tens of thousands of railway staff are expected to walk out over the period, with Network Rail bosses accusing the RMT of “playing fast and loose with peoples’ Christmas plans”.

Blackpool North station deserted during a previous strike.

Rail strikes: What Blackpool residents think about the train strikes

The first date when services are expected to return to normal are Monday, January 9.

On the strike days, half of all lines across the country are closed, with trains are only operating between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

As has ben the case with previous such strikes earlier this year in the ongoing RMT dispute, the Fylde Coast is completely without trains, while justa few services are operating from Preston, which is also served by Avanti West Coast and Transpennine Express.

Here is a breakdown of each of those operator’s plan for strike days:

Northern

Northern customers are advised not to travel between Tuesday 13 and Saturday 17 December as there will be major disruption across the whole rail network

There is a very limited timetable in place on Sunday 18 December - with a number of routes and services not running. Please check before you travel.

There will be no Northern Services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and if you must travel over Christmas, there will be very limited services on Christmas Eve and on Tuesday December 27. Check before you travel.

There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days for Northern services and some Northern stations may be closed or have reduced hours due to the limited staffing and services.

The only Northern services operating in the North West between December 13 and 17 are: Liverpool - Earlestown - Manchester - Manchester Airport.

On Sunday, December 18, as the network recovers from the strike action, there wil be adjustment to the Blackpool - Manchester service, which runs through Preston, but other Northern services that day are expected to run as normal.

Avanti West Coast

There is one train per hour in both directions between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. A limited service is operating to Glasgow.

Several areas are not being served, including Blackpool along with destinations such as Edinburgh, North Wales and Shrewsbury.

Transpennine Express

December 13,14, 15, 16 and 17: Five services in each direction are being operated between Preston and Manchester Airport.

In all cases, for the most up-to-date information, go to the websites of the operators concerned: Northern, Avanti West Coast and Transpennine Express.

Train strikes December 2022: These are the only services operating locally as almost a month of disruption begins