TRAIN strikes will be taking place from today (May 31) and next week.

Members of the ASLEF and Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) unions are striking due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.

Train drivers will walk out on Wednesday (May 31), Friday (June 2), and Saturday (June 3). Disruption is also expected on Thursday, June 1.

Train service Northern will operate no trains whatsoever on Wednesday and Saturday and there will be “limited” services available on Friday including routes between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester as well as Leeds, York, Darlington and Sheffield.

Northern confirmed that there would be no rail replacement buses on strike days for Northern services and that advanced tickets have been withdrawn from sale for strike days.

The strikes will also impact other rail operators that people use to get in and out of Merseyside. However, Merseyrail will not be affected by the strikes.

Transport for Wales, which runs Chester Railway Station and operates a number of services from there to Manchester, Crewe and North Wales, is not directly involved in the dispute, but said: "Some of our services are likely to be extremely busy as a result of the severely-reduced timetable put in place by other operators."

A reduced Manchester train service will be running on June 2, outside the hours of 7am-7pm, and on June 3. Passengers are urged to check before travelling.

TransPennine Express is another operator that will be impacted by the strikes. There will be no trains running on Wednesday and Saturday and a reduced timetable on Friday which will only operate between Liverpool Lime Street and Preston and York.

There will also be no Avanti West Coast trains on Wednesday or Saturday. On Friday there will be one train each hour from London Euston and Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We advise checking journey planners if you choose to travel on days affected by industrial action, particularly in the morning and the last service of the day. Please also check journeys the day after strikes as some services may be affected. 

“Remember to check your entire journey as services across the country may be affected.”