Commuters urged to 'plan carefully' ahead of rail strike affecting travel in West Yorkshire

The 24-hour strike, which will only affect Northern Rail services, runs between midnight Sunday 12 March and midnight on Monday 13 March.

Some disruption is also expected early on Tuesday as services get back to normal.

Northern has issued a revised timetable and is expecting to run about 40 per cent of its normal timetable, or around 980 services. It expects all services to be "extremely busy" and is advising customers to set aside extra time for their journey and consider whether it is necessary.

Richard Allan, Deputy Managing Director at Northern, said: “We have focused our planning efforts on maintaining a train service on our busier routes between 7am and 7pm, and are looking to provide replacement bus services on some routes where trains won’t run.

“We are acutely aware of the important role that Northern plays in keeping the north of England moving, would ask for your patience on Monday, and ask all our customers to individually take time to consider whether your journey is necessary and if it is, please plan carefully.”

Metro, the transport authority for West Yorkshire, said trains not affected by the strike were likely to be busier than usual and there would be more traffic on the roads and more people travelling by bus.

They are advising people to reschedule their journeys and to avoid peak periods.

There will be extra capacity at Leeds Elland Road Park & Ride but it is also expected to be busy.

The RMT said Northern Rail had failed to give assurances on the future role of the guard on their services.

The union began industrial action on Merseyrail on Monday over the same issue.

Details of the revised timetables can be found on https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/industrial-action.

Those covering replacement buses are expected to be published later this week.