Northern calls for goodwill to all this festive season ahead of Christmas Markets

The markets bring thousands of extra people to the city centre in the run-up to Christmas, with many choosing to travel by train. Northern is warning customers that stations and train services may, therefore, be much busier than usual.  

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The Christmas Markets are fantastic for Manchester and there is a genuine buzz around the city, as it’s transformed into a winter wonderland.  

“Many visitors choose to the leave their cars at home and travel by train to enjoy all the markets have to offer. It’s a great way to travel to and from the city, but the additional customers mean our trains and stations are likely to be busier than normal – particularly in the evenings and at weekends.  

“Sadly, with alcohol often playing a large part in people’s enjoyment of the markets – coupled with the start of the Christmas party season – the festivities can be spoiled by anti-social behaviour which impacts on other customers and rail staff.”  

As part of the work by Northern to keep rail customers safe this Christmas, on Saturdays the 21.43 train from Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent will operate as a ‘dry-train’ until 18 December (including on 18 December). This means that the consumption of alcohol is not permitted on this service.   

Chris added: “We want to make sure all our customers have a great festive season, so I’m asking everyone to act with patience and respect. Our trains will be busy, but we’ll have extra staff on duty and all at Northern will be working round-the-clock to help people get where they need to be.”  

Customers should also be aware that Deansgate station closes at 1800 on Fridays and Saturdays during the Christmas Markets. During this time, customers will need to use Manchester Victoria, Oxford Road or Piccadilly stations, which are just a few minutes' walk away.