Workers ’ Wednesdays in Greater Manchester have been plunged into chaos in the latest bout of rail strikes. 

The strikes, which have been called “political” by Transport Secretary Mark Harper, came on the final day of the Tory party conference in Manchester.

The union for train drivers, ASLEF, said in a statement: “‘Those who have, falsely, accused us of targeting events in the past, to hide their own shortcomings, and bad faith, have inspired us to take action on these days.

"Any government that would try to indenture its own citizens should understand the ire and resentment they have caused, on top of their failure to give a pay rise for coming up to half a decade for some of our members.”

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “There is a deal on the table for ASLEF that would take average driver salaries to £65,000 for a four-day week.

"We are ready and willing to talk to ASLEF’s leaders so we can end this damaging dispute - but any talks about pay also need to address working practices that date back decades.”

The strikes are taking place across 16 different train operators, including Chiltern Trains, Northern Trains, Avanti West Coast, and TransPennine Express.

Commuters reacted to the latest action over X, formerly known as Twitter.

One wrote: "I’m dreading travelling from Liverpool to Manchester honestly, I hate these train strikes"

Another said: "Wait wait wait. The tories had their conference, in manchester, during a rail strike. Where they announced they're scrapping the northern leg of HS2 (likely cause they think it's 'woke')? Egregious."

The latest strike will last for 24 hours. However, the overtime ban, which will still result in some cancelled trains, will continue until October 6.

Passengers are urged to plan ahead and check their journey times.