TRAINS in Merseyside will be subject to severe delays on Saturday (April 8) - Grand National Day - as Northern and Merseyrail services strike.

Timetables for both operators have had to be greatly revised and reduced as guard members of the RMT union walk out in a second one-day strike in relation to on-train staffing.

On a bumper day of sporting activity – including the National at Aintree Racecourse and a number of football fixtures – Northern expects to run around 32 per cent of its normal services.

Northern advises all customers to give themselves extra time to travel and consider whether their journey is necessary.

Merseyrail's limited services will be focussed on getting people to and from the Grand National, so anyone not going to Aintree is being warned that the network is likely to be very busy.

To help keep as many racegoers as possible on the move as they travel into and out of Liverpool Lime Street as part of their journey to Aintree, Northern will operate:

Two trains per hour from Wigan North Western (first train at 9.33am) and St Helens Central (first train at 9.50am).

Two trains per hour from Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street (one per hour between Manchester Oxford Road – first train leaving at 8.44am – and Liverpool Lime Street, and one per hour between Manchester Victoria – first train leaving at 9.12am - and Liverpool Lime Street), with capacity doubled to four carriages.

The last Northern train is scheduled to leave Liverpool Lime Street station at 6.30pm, before the Grand National event is over.

Customers who want to travel by train after then will need to use non-Northern services from Lime Street or consider alternative forms of travel for the journey home.

Paul Barnfield, regional director for Northern, said: "We are doing everything we can to keep customers on the move on Saturday, April 8.   Unfortunately planned strike action will severely limit our services, with the majority of the trains that we do run operating between 9am and 5pm.

"On Grand National day Northern usually provides additional train services to help as many people as possible into Liverpool to enjoy their day at Aintree.

"Wherever possible we have provided extra carriages on the trains we are able to operate, but racegoers need to know Northern’s last train out of Liverpool Lime Street will leave at 6.30pm. To get a Northern train home, visitors will need to leave Aintree well before the last races.

"All of Northern’s services will be limited and we ask customers to plan their travel carefully."

People who are intending to travel further afield will still be able to get mainline services as other operators will be unaffected by the Industrial action.

Full details of Merseyrail services and rail replacement buses are on the Merseyrail website merseyrail.org/strike, on Twitter (@Merseyrail) and on posters at all stations.

For the latest on Northern services visit nationalrail.co.uk or northernrailway.co.uk/industrialaction and follow @northernassist on Twitter.