City of Lincoln Council are reassuring visitors to Lincoln Christmas Market who travel via train that potential strike action should not affect key East Midlands Railway services.
Following an announcement from East Midlands Railway earlier this week, RMT representatives have indicated they are preparing for strike action on 3 and 4 December.
The popular Lincoln Christmas Market will run from 2-5 December and promises to bring Christmas cheer to its visitors following the cancellation of all Christmas Markets last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Plans for the market continue, with a wide range of travel options for visitors, including the popular Park and Ride service at Lincolnshire Showground at an early bird price of £12 and coach pre-bookings available for the market until 26 November.
An East Midlands Railway spokesperson said: “We are disappointed and surprised by this latest threat of strike action.
“We have noted that the strike dates have been specifically selected to disrupt the Lincoln Christmas market and we will be working on contingency plans to try and protect key services over the weekend of 3 and 4 December.”
Simon Colburn, Assistant Director for Health and Environmental Services at City of Lincoln Council added: “We are very pleased to hear that East Midlands Railway is working hard to ensure there is minimum disruption to train services during the Lincoln Christmas Market period.
“Lincoln Christmas Market is a very popular event and we are confident that East Midlands Railway will be able to ensure everything runs smoothly during that weekend, despite any potential strike action.
“If people who would usually catch the train to the Lincoln Christmas Market are looking to arrange their travel early this year, we have a variety of options available.
“Park and Ride is available at Lincolnshire Showground with shuttle buses travelling to the market on a regular basis with an early bird rate of £12 for up to five passengers.
“We are also taking pre-bookings for coach travel, which ends at midnight on 26 November for larger groups looking to attend this year’s market.
“More information can be found at Lincoln-christmasmarket.co.uk.”