A RAIL operator has sent out a warning to football fans ahead of the derby this weekend.

Northern is calling on Cumbrian football fans to plan their travel carefully ahead of this weekend’s derby between Barrow and Carlisle United.

The two sides meet in the lunch time kick off on Saturday 13 November, and the train operator is warning its services are likely to be much busier than usual.

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “It’s great that so many people will be able to enjoy the match, but we are expecting our trains to be a little busier than usual.”

“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we’re putting on an additional service and using as many carriages as we can to make journeys as comfortable as possible, but we need rail users to plan ahead and allow extra time for travel.

“I’d also advise people to stagger their journeys where possible as trains leaving directly after the match are likely to be busiest.”

There is a special rail service for fans on Saturday.

Barrow fans will be able to catch the train to Carlisle on at 8.58am.

The 'Football Special' train will not stop between Barrow and Carlisle.

The return journey from Carlisle will depart 16.06pm and arrive in Barrow at 18.24pm.