Northern running above par service for The Open Championship

Additional shuttle services will run between Southport and Wigan Wallgate ferom today and across the weekend, with services bolstered towards Southport in the morning and towards Wigan in the evenings.

Meanwhile, people will also be able to catch Northern services to and from Liverpool Lime Street where they can connect onto the Merseyrail network to reach Royal Birkdale.

Sharon Keith, Regional Director for Northern, said: “Having The Open at Royal Birkdale is a huge honour and Northern wants to play its part by helping golf fans get to and from the event as smoothly as possible.

“With extra trains and increased capacity our customers should have no problems making it to the tee on time.”

Engineering works on the line between Salford and Manchester Victoria on Sunday will mean some customers may have to use rail replacement buses on this route. And there will be no direct services between Southport and Manchester Aiport.

Sharon added: “The engineering work in Manchester is a vital part of the modernisation of the railway in the region. It has to go ahead. But we are aware of the potential impact and have rail replacement buses in place where necessary. Anyone who wants to travel on to Manchester Airport on Sunday will be able to change trains at Manchester Piccadilly.

“This weekend promises to be a fantastic celebration of sport, with the best golfers in the world all heading to Royal Birkdale. Our customers can rest assured we are doing everything possible to ensure they never miss a swing!”

For full details of timetables and rail replacement bus services – and to plan you journey by rail – please visit Northern’s Journey Check online or go to National Rail Enquiries.