TRAIN operator Northern has published a calendar highlighting its travel guidance to customers over Christmas and New Year period.

Passengers are set to be hit by a triple whammy of strikes, major engineering works and the regular Christmas ‘shut down’ (Christmas Day & Boxing Day).

The calendar runs up until Tuesday, January 10, outlining the days when:

• customers can travel but should expect disruption

• customers should not travel due to very limited services

• customers cannot travel as there are no services operating

• customers can expect a normal service to be running

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “We hope this quick reference guide will make it easier for customers to make travel arrangements over the Christmas period.

"The main cause of the disruption remains industrial action by the RMT union and we can only apologise to our customers for the inconvenience it will cause to their journeys.”

How to check new timetable

Northern’s new timetable came into effect just before this extended period of disruption, so it is advising customers to use the new Check My Timetable feature on its website to see the changes specific to their local station.

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