ENGINEERING works are set to cause misery for anybody planning to travel in or out of Furness by train over the May Day bank holiday weekend.

For anyone wanting to travel south of Grange they will have to rely on replacement bus services running throughout the weekend.

Today (Saturday) only one train ran south of Grange, the 4.35am service from Barrow.

A similar picture of disruption is painted for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow (Sunday) there will only be six trains running during the day travelling south. Again, these services will terminate at Grange, and a replacement bus service to Preston will take over.

This disruption could affect a large number of people coming to the area to take part in a number of bank holiday events.

Today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday) the popular Printfest returns to the Coronation Hall in Ulverston, showcasing some of the top artistic talent from the area.

In Barrow, Hawcoat Park will be transformed into a celebration of all things cider as the annual Ciderfest celebration begins tomorrow (Sunday).

People travelling to several sporting events could also face disruption. Barrow AFC face Dover this afternoon (Saturday), and tomorrow (Sunday) Barrow Raiders take on Oxford RLFC.

On bank holiday Monday Northern will be operating a Sunday service, with bus replacements still operating south of Grange.

For passengers travelling North, the same situation applies. A bus service from Preston will run to range, where trains will then pick up the remainder of the journey.

As well as the disruption due to engineering work and the bank holiday, strike action severely limited rail links yesterday (Friday). Talks between Arriva Northern and the RMT Union about the future of guards’ roles were unsuccessful, meaning a 24-hour walkout took place.

Mick Cash, secretary of the union said there was a flagrant disregard for safety on Arriva's part, saying: "The public, who support RMT's campaign for a guarantee of a guard on their trains, will be appalled that Arriva Rail North have failed yet again to offer any kind of progress whatsoever in the talks and have instead opted to try and bulldoze through their plans regardless.

"It is that flagrant disregard for the safety issues at the heart of the dispute which leaves us with no option but to press ahead with the campaign of strike action."

Click here to find more information from Northern about the upcoming disruption.

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Learn more about the dispute at the heart of the recent strike action