Manchester braces itself for weekend of 'disappointment and frustration' amid predicted chaos

Tens of thousands of people are set to descend on Manchester over the coming days for a weekend of music, football and fun.

A series of huge concerts are being held across the city while Saturday also sees Manchester City and Manchester United go head-to-head in the FA Cup final at Wembley. But despite the anticipated influx of visitors, the city's main railway station will be much quieter than usual.

That is because a series of train strikes are being held amid a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Rail passengers suffered another day of travel disruption yesterday (Wednesday) after members of the drivers’ union Aslef walked out, affecting train services throughout the country.

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The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has also called a strike on Friday, while another Aslef walk out will take place on Saturday, the same day that Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay all play in Manchester.

The industrial action will also affect City and United fans travelling to London for the cup final. Fans wishing to travel to the game by train from Manchester are being advised not to attempt to do so on the day.

At Manchester Piccadilly yesterday afternoon, boards inside the station showed just a handful of services running. Husband and wife Carol Blake and Derek Jones were among the lucky ones, having caught a train from Warrington to watch Ricky Gervais at the O2 Apollo.

“We were a bit concerned about trains but there were plenty,” Ms Blake said. “It was delayed 20 minutes and there were no seats, but we were amazed there was one.”

Ms Blake said she had previously sympathised with the strikes