Train users are being advised to check travel details over Christmas after Northern Rail announce all services to Manchester Victoria station will be cancelled.
There will be no Northern Rail trains serving Manchester Victoria after the last service on Christmas Eve until services resume on Thursday January 2, to allow for 'major improvements' to be made at the station.
Commuters are advised to check travel details thoroughly when booking tickets and before they travel.
Martin Frobisher, area director for Network Rail, said: “There is never a good time to carry out major work and on balance, completing the work over the holiday period was the best time to complete this essential project.
Train services are quieter at this time of year and fewer people are expected to experience changes to their travel plans compared to the alternative, which would have been to stagger the work over dozens of weekends and bank holidays.”
Northern Rail services to/from Huddersfield via Stalybridge will start/terminate at Ashton-under-Lyne, with buses running to/from Manchester Victoria.
Services to/from Bradford and Leeds via Hebden Bridge will start/terminate at Rochdale, with a rail replacement bus service to Manchester Victoria.
Metrolink services from Manchester Victoria will continue to operate as normal, and Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Deansgate stations will remain open.
Lee Wasnidge, area director for Northern Rail, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience during this improvement work. The long awaited redevelopment of this station is transforming the city around Victoria.
This nine day blockade over Christmas will see the new concourse developing on the station as well as structural work to support electrification as it evolves across the North West.”
Full details of amended timetables, alternative travel options and walking routes will be available shortly at www.northernrail.org and www.tfgm.com.
