Passengers are being warned that rail strikes will disrupt the first weekend of Birmingham’s Christmas market.
West Midlands Trains say a “significantly reduced” service will be in operation on Friday (4th November) due to industrial action by the TSSA union.
A walkout by RMT members on Saturday means the number of services running in and out of Birmingham New Street will also be reduced, with Network Rail saying just nine trains an hour will operate.
Some routes will have no services running, while those that do will likely only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Steven Ireland, Network Rail’s director of stations for Birmingham New Street, said: “It’s so frustrating that passengers are yet again facing heavy disruption or cancellations to their rail journeys because of unnecessary strike action by unions.
“As we’re now gearing up for the festive season it also disrupts passengers who want to make the most of Birmingham’s city centre events and the Christmas markets.
“On strike days I’d urge people to know that trains will finish much earlier than normal – even if you can catch a train into the city you won’t be able to get a train home.”
Passengers are also being warned that delays could be experienced on Sunday morning due to trains being in the wrong locations.
People can visit National Rail for full details on which services are running.