A SKELETON rail service will run between Leeds and Ilkley during the RMT strikes next week, Northern has said as it issued a 'do not travel' notice.

The Leeds to Ilkley train is one of several routes which will have services running hourly between 7.30am and 6.30pm during two 48-hour walk-outs, which will take place on December 13-14 and 16-17.

Other routes which will have hourly services on these dates between 7.30am and 6.30pm are:

• Leeds to Sheffield via Wakefield Westgate

• Leeds to York via Micklefield

• Leeds to Bradford Forster Square

• Leeds to Skipton

• Liverpool to Manchester Airport

Customers are advised to check before they travel if planning to use one of these skeleton services.

The overall advice from Northern to its customers across the North of England is ‘Do Not Travel’ during the RMT strikes.

The train operator says the two 48-hour walk-outs, coupled with the knock-on impact on December 15 in-between the strikes, means an effective five-day travel ban for rail users.

During this period, all but a handful of services will be cancelled and the vast majority of the train operator’s 500 plus stations will be closed.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “This is the last thing we want to do in the run-up to Christmas, but with the RMT pressing ahead with these 48-hour strikes, we have no option but to advise customers not to travel. We can only apologise once again for the disruption their action will cause.”

On Sunday, December 11 Northern’s new timetable comes into effect and all customers, especially those who have made regular journeys on the same train times, are advised to check online journey planners before they travel to ensure their service operates at the same time and calls at the same stations.