'Do not travel' warning to rail passengers heading from Stoke to Manchester
Train company Northern is urging passengers not to travel between Stoke and Manchetser this Sunday (September 29) due to staff shortages. The firm says that "due to crew being unavailable" a number of short-notice cancellations are expected.
They are urging anyone intending to catch a Northern train on Sunday to check before they travel, as many of the services currently showing on the timetable may not run. Other operators on the same route are not affected.
In particular, Northern says those wanting to use the following routes should not travel:
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Manchester Piccadilly – Stoke-on-Trent (& Macclesfield)
Liverpool Lime Street - Wigan – Blackpool North
Manchester Victoria – Chester (via Warrington Bank Quay)
Wigan North Western – Stalybridge
Manchester Piccadilly – Chester (via Altrincham)
It is the fourth consecutive Sunday on which such warnings have been issued to passengers for various different routes. A statement on their website and social media channels says: "We encourage everyone to plan ahead and check journeys before travelling, particularly last trains of the day which may be earlier than usual and may be cancelled at short notice.
"If you do travel, please leave yourself plenty of time to do so and don't rely on last services. Trains currently showing may not run, our control teams are working to update the train plan but you should check closer to the time of travel."