The Rail, Maritime and Transport union strike officially begins today (Monday 20 June) and will continue throughout the week.
Commuter chaos ensued thismorning in Leeds and will continue throughout the day as a whopping 80% of all trains running across Great Britain are cancelled.
Today marks the biggest walk-out of rail staff in more than 30 years with further walk-outs due to take place on Thursday and Saturday. The union have confirmed that an estimated 50,000 employees will be walking out over the course of the week, making it the biggest train strike since 1989.
The strikes are an attempt to reform the rail industry and Network Rail alongside 13 other train networks will be taking part.
Strike days are scheduled today, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June. A very limited service will be seen from all networks on these days with most trains only running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Network Rail has urged passengers to check their travel route ahead of time with train operators and only travel if absolutely necessary on strike days. The disruption will heavily impact Leeds and Yorkshire, here is a list of all the services effected.
Northern Rail
Northern Rail have stated they will have "extremely limited availability" of train staff and that the majority of services will not be running. They urge passengers not to travel at all between Tuesday 21 June and Sunday 26 June.
The seven services running on the days of the strike are as follows:
Transpennine will also experience serious disruption and will be closing a number of stations during the strike period.
There will be roughly one train per hour between Manchester and York, and every two to four hours on other routes, and no trains at all to the following stations:
Yarm
Scarborough
Seamer
Malton
Selby
Brough
Hull
Some other Transpennine services will only have limited availability, these are as follows:
LNER have announced that only 38% of their trains will be running on all strike days.
There will be no services between Leeds, Harrogate, Hull, Skipton and Bradford Forster Square. The Leeds to London service will also be extremely limited with only one train every hour.
On strike days there will be one fast train per hour between Nottingham, Sheffield, Corby and London and one per hour on routes between Derby, Matlock, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield. All other lines will be closed.
For more information and to view their timetable, click here.
Crosscountry
Crosscountry will also be running a very limited service with no road transport busses in replacement.
You can find more information and their timetable here.
Bring Me The Horizon have sent British rock fans into bedlam by booking a special anniversary gig celebrating 20 years since their debut album, Count Your Blessings, and we’re lucky enough that it’s coming to Manchester.
And that’s not the only massive announcement they’ve dropped along with it.
It seems hard to believe it’s been two whole decades since the Northern favourites first burst onto the scene with their first LP, and the Yorkshire heavyweights have come a long way since, both sonically and career-wise in general.
Teaming up with Outbreak ahead of their 2026 festival, they teased the show with a series of posters dotted around Manchester city centre last week.
Yes, the band are set to perform their maiden studio outing, along with a few bonus tracks, in its entirety for the first time EVER.
.@OutbreakFest Presents: Count Your Blessings | Repented
played in full, for the first time ever [manchester 10th july 2026] + other bangers.
It remains unclear whether they’ll be playing it in the original order, nor do we know how many big hits from other albums they’ll be throwing into the set.
All we know is that it’s going to be absolute chaos in those pits.
Presented by Outbreak, the landmark show will be held at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a.k.a. the BEC Arena, where the hardcore, punk and all things alternative festival is hosted every year.
Even the poster alone is making us feel nostalgic for our ‘mosher’ phase (as if it ever ended); get your fringes, skinny jeans and checkerboard Vans at the ready.
One of the biggest names to have ever come out of Sheffield – an impressive feat in itself given its rich musical heritage – they’ve done wonders for heavier genres domestically.
Whether you dub them emo, metal, deathcore/anything and everything in between, you can’t deny they’re one of the biggest UK exports this scene has ever, well, seen.
Better still, the all-day event will also feature performances by Static Dress, Rolo Tomassi, Dying Wish, Heriot, Car Underwater and Still In Love.
Last but not least, in arguably even more exciting news, the band have also revealed that they are releasing a full re-recorded version of Count Your Blessings to mark the milestone, dubbing it the ‘Repented‘ version. Not to exaggerate, but we’re absolutely screaming over here…
Fans get their hands on early access by pre-ordering the remastered album from a special old-school, very Myspace-esque landing page; as for general admission, tickets go on sale at 10am this Friday, 17 April – you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Featured Images — Publicity picture (supplied)/Audio North
News
North Star Coffee is expanding and opening two new sites in Leeds city centre this summer
Clementine Hall
One of Leeds' most iconic brands is expanding with two city centre openings.
Coffee lovers, you're going to love this one.
North Star Coffee Roasters are one of the early pioneers of specialty coffee in the North of England and among the UK’s first B Corp-certified coffee roasters.
They've been keeping the people of Leeds awake since 2013, and you'll find their coffee across the country as well as at their current city centre locations.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And there's just no stopping them, as North Star is expanding into both Great George Street and the historic Victoria Quarter. Hurrah!
The Great George Street site will open as a takeaway-focused kiosk and retail store, designed to slot into your every day morning routine for that quick on-the-go brew.
They'll also be serving up house-made breakfast and lunch sandwiches, bakes, and a curated selection of retail coffee, brewing equipment, and accessories.
The Victoria Quarter location will offer similar, set amongst the Quarter’s tiled arcades and heritage storefronts, the site will reflect a more visible presence for the business within Leeds’ evolving food and drink landscape.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
“While it’s easy to focus on the challenges facing hospitality, we still believe deeply in the role that cafés play in our city's community,” said Holly Kragiopoulos, CEO of North Star Coffee Roasters.
“They are places where people come together, to meet, to pause, to connect. Choosing to invest now is a reflection of our belief in Leeds, and in the long-term value of creating spaces people genuinely want to spend time in.”
“These new sites allow us to create meaningful opportunities for both new and existing team members,” Holly added.
“Hospitality is ultimately about people - both those we serve and those who make the experience possible.As a Leeds-born business, we’re incredibly proud to continue investing in our city. The support we’ve had from day one is what’s made this growth possible.”
Clementine Hall -
20th June 2022 
