Bolton commuters are suffering fresh travel chaos today after thousands of workers walked out on strike crippling local and national services.

Some turned up to Bolton train station to find it shut.

The strike was the first in series of a new wave of walkouts set to continue into to summer.

A slightly obscured notice from Northern in a window at the entrance warned passengers, 'Do NOT TRAVEL'.

It continues: "As a result of RMT strike action, there will be very limited Northern train sercies on Wednesday 27 July.

"Northern customers are advised not to travel on this day."

Would-be passengers at the station told The Bolton News that this notice is the extent of the communication they have had, with no sign of staff to help redirect people in case they needed it.

National Rail's website is showing that there are currently new departures planned at the station.

Disputes in the bitter row over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions are worsening, with more strikes planned.

Only around one in five trains are running on Wednesday, on around half the network, with some areas having no trains all day.

Passengers are urged to only travel by train if they must, and, if it is necessary, to allow extra time and check when their last train will depart.

Trains will also be disrupted on Thursday morning with a later start to services as employees return to duties.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said union members are more determined than ever to secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions.

“Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new,” he said.

Mr Lynch added: “RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone.”

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “Despite our best efforts to find a breakthrough, I’m afraid there will be more disruption for passengers this week as the RMT seems hell-bent on continuing their political campaigning, rather than compromising and agreeing a deal for their members.

“I can only apologise for the impact this pointless strike will have on passengers, especially those travelling for holidays or attending events such as the Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final (on Wednesday) and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games (on Thursday).”

A spokesperson for Northern said: "Strike action by RMT members will significantly affect services on 27 July 2022 with most lines closed with no train services or alternatives. We advise customers not to travel on Wednesday  27 July.

"There are a small number of routes running with a very limited service, you should only travel if necessary on these routes. If you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead/check your entire journey.

"We also advise customers to check before they travel on Thursday 28 July as some services may have been affected by the previous day's strike action.

"A further strike by ASLEF union is affecting other train companies on Saturday 30th, whilst we are not affected by the industrial action if you have a through ticket - one which you require both our services and services of another train company affected by strike such as LNER, TPE, CrossCountry, EMR - then you can use your through ticket between now and 2 August."

Members of the RMT and TSSA will launch co-ordinated strikes on August 18 and 20,