A picket line operated at Harrogate Rail Station this morning as the latest wave of strikes by the RMT union draws to a close.

Union members are expected to picket the station again tomorrow before trains begin to run a limited service on Sunday.

No further strikes are currently planned and normal service is due to resume on the Harrogate and Knaresborough line on Monday for the first time in more than three weeks due to strikes, an overtime ban and bank holidays.

Pickets told the Stray Ferret the main reasons they were striking were concerns over passenger safety and working conditions, rather than pay.

An RMT member at Harrogate station today.

They said ticket offices faced closure and safety would be compromised by cuts to staff unless they took action.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said “it’s time for the unions to get off the picket line and back round the table” and claimed he has “delivered new, improved pay and reform offers”.

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Harrogate commuters have vented their frustration as early morning trains to Leeds are axed today.

Rail operator Northern has cancelled the first two services of the day from Harrogate to Leeds at 6.07am and 6.33am.

It means the earliest Harrogate commuters can arrive in Leeds is 7.28am, compared with 6.24am from Bradford, 6.27am from Skipton and 6.31am from Ilkley

It will also inconvenience some Harrogate business passengers travelling to London for early morning meetings.

Martyn Fletcher, who was one of the commuters caught out by today’s timetable change, was left waiting at a wet Pannal station at 6.15am for a service that no longer exists. He said:

“I commute to Kent every week and have done so for over two years with no problems but no longer can get to Leeds to catch my scheduled train.

“I am not the only person living in Harrogate who needs to commute . In my opinion, trains must run every half hour from 5.30am until 8.30am so that those that need to catch connecting services from Leeds to elsewhere can do so.

“This change to schedule makes no sense at all . If you want to save money only run a hourly services during the quieter mid-morning mid-afternoon period . But provide a proper service for workers and business people.”

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Northern has said the cuts are due to be reversed in December but rail campaigner Brian Dunsby told the Stray Ferret he wasn’t convinced.

“They have done this without good reason and without justification. I don’t trust them to reinstate the services.

“I can’t get proper answers out of them or find out who made this decision.

‘Harrogate is being picked on’

Mr Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group,  said it would be far better to scrap an afternoon service rather than the key early morning trains, adding:

“It’s crazy that the Harrogate line seems to have been picked on when others haven’t been treated this way.”

Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said:

“The new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.

“We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available.

“We’ve then prioritised the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.”