Latest rail strikes to impact fans heading to golf's Open Championship at Hoylake
Three days of walkouts announced in ongoing row over pay
Last updated 23rd Jun 2023
Golf's Open Championship at Hoylake is among sporting events set to be affected by a further three days of rail strikes next month
Members of the RMT will walk out on the 20th, 22nd and 29th of July in a row over pay.
The 151st edition of golf's oldest major is set to take place at Royal Liverpool between Sunday July 16 and Sunday July 23.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said 20,000 of its members at 14 train companies will walk out.
The 4th Ashes Test at Old Trafford is also due to be affected.
The Government has hit back, accusing the union of "targeting two iconic international sporting events".
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "This latest phase of action will show the country just how important railway staff are to the running of the rail industry.
"My team of negotiators and I are available 24/7 for talks with the train operating companies and Government ministers.
"Yet quite incredibly neither party has made any attempt whatsoever to arrange any meetings or put forward a decent offer that can help us reach a negotiated solution."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The RMT leadership's decision to call strikes targeting two iconic international sporting events, as children and families begin their summer holidays, will disrupt people's plans across the country.
"After a year of industrial action, passengers and rail workers alike are growing tired of union bosses playing politics with their lives. It's high time the union leaders realised that strikes no longer have the impact they once did and are simply driving people away from the railway."
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "More strikes are totally unnecessary."