'Two years without Sunday trains is appalling'

Campaigners have staged a protest at a railway station to mark two years since the last Sunday train stopped in their town.

The group gathered in Congleton, Cheshire, as they continued to call for Northern to solve a long-running dispute with workers that has left the town without Sunday trains.

Since then, rail-replacement buses have been operating instead, but members of community group Congleton Train Users, residents and councillors claimed they were unreliable.

Northern said its current Sunday timetable in the North West reflected the service it could reliably deliver.

Richard Eadie, a rail industry expert with Congleton Train Users, said it was an "unacceptable situation".

"We understand that there are issues between Northern and its drivers over Sunday working and pay," he added.

"That dispute isn't the passengers' fault. It is Northern's responsibility to resolve it. Congleton has waited long enough."

The protest came after improved connections were announced for nearby Alsager and Holmes Chapel, including an hourly service between Birmingham and Manchester Airport, from May.

Congleton's town mayor Suzy Firkin welcomed those improvements but said her town also deserved good public transport.

"At a time when we are encouraging people to use public transport and leave their cars at home, having effectively no rail service for one day every week makes no sense," she said.

"Northern needs to sort this out and give Congleton back our Sunday trains."

Councillor Kay Wesley, of Congleton Town Council, said people were "appalled" at the lack of Sunday trains and some people who worked at weekends were losing income as a result.

She said residents were also "angry" about services during the week, describing them as "unreliable or not big enough to fit all passengers".

"Our railway service has not kept pace with the growth of our town and we are now the poor relation in Cheshire with regard to rail transport," Wesley added.

The protest came about a year after more than 700 people signed a petition calling for the Sunday service to be brought back.

A spokesperson for Northern said: "Our current Sunday timetable in the North West reflects the level of service we can reliably deliver whilst some conductors are contractually entitled not to work on Sundays.

"We know this is frustrating for customers, and we are working towards a resolution with our conductors and the RMT union.

"Once a solution has been reached, we will keep the timetable under close review and look to reinstate as many services as possible, as quickly as we can."

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