All London to Manchester trains cancelled and 'severe disruption' warning ahead of train strikes

Rail passengers are being urged only to travel if necessary on Saturday because of a strike by workers in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Unite and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) will stage a co-ordinated walkout, causing huge disruption to services.

A reduced timetable has been published, showing that just 11% of rail services will run, with some areas having no trains. Avanti West Coast will not be running any services at all on Saturday (October 8) or Wednesday (October 5) and have warned of severe disruption.

Their website advises: "Please do not attempt to travel on Avanti West Coast on 1 or 5 October - we will not be running any services on our route. On 8 October, we strongly advise to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary. If your journey is essential, please plan ahead as your entire journey will likely be severely disrupted. The days after industrial action will also be affected."

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Saturday will be the first time the unions have walked out on the same day, so services will be more significantly disrupted than on previous strike days. Trains will start later in the morning and finish earlier in the evening.

People planning to get to Sunday's London Marathon have also been warned of the disruption.

Unlike previous strike days, this Saturday there will be no trains between London and a number of other major UK cities – including Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Brighton and Norwich. Another strike will be held on October 8.

Passengers are advised that there is