Train travellers in Sandbach faced another day of misery today (Friday) as strikes gripped the network, crippling rail services again.

The car park at Sandbach train station was empty and platforms were free of passengers as commuters found alternative ways of getting to work.

The latest round of strikes is by Northern who said as a result of ASLEF strike action, no services would operate on Friday 8th December.

And they are reminded that Northern's new timetable takes effect on Sunday (December 10th) along with the rest of the National Rail network.

The timetable change comes at the end of a period of industrial action by ASLEF, which culminates today Friday (8th December) when Northern will be unable to run any of its 2,500 daily services.

A spokesperson said: "The agreement reached last week between the RMT union and train operators in England was a separate dispute and is unrelated to the current disruption affecting services across the region.

"Most Northern services are unaffected by the timetable change from Sunday, but there will be a slight re-timing of some services.

"For more information about individual stations, customers should use the 'Check My Timetable' feature on the Northern website at here

Deserted car park today at Sandbach train station

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer for Northern, said: "Whilst the overwhelming majority of our services remain 'as is' from Sunday – customers should double check any regular journeys they make – especially those with short connections.

"We're very conscious that this timetable change immediately follows a period of significant disruption caused by the ASLEF action this week.

"We want to make sure our customers are aware of the upcoming change and would encourage people to use the 'Check My Timetable' guide on the website."

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK. Ordinarily, they would operate nearly 2,000 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.