:00:11. > :00:15.Commuters are being urged to plan ahead for their journey to work
:00:16. > :00:18.tomorrow as a rail strike is expected to cause
:00:19. > :00:21.delays on roads and public transport around the region.
:00:22. > :00:24.The RMT union is in dispute with Northern Rail and Merseyrail
:00:25. > :00:28.over plans to introduce more driver-only-operated trains.
:00:29. > :00:30.Motorists have been warned the industrial action could lead
:00:31. > :00:33.to disruption as more people take to the roads.
:00:34. > :00:40.As rail workers take part in a 24-hour walkout tomorrow,
:00:41. > :00:45.the impact is expected to be felt far beyond the region's railways.
:00:46. > :00:47.Transport for Greater Manchester is among those warning that
:00:48. > :00:53.Roads and motorways are expected to be busier than normal,
:00:54. > :00:58.with more pressure on tram and bus services around the region too.
:00:59. > :01:00.The strike by members of the RMT union centres
:01:01. > :01:06.It wants Northern Rail and Merseyrail to give more
:01:07. > :01:09.assurances that they won't transfer the task of opening and closing
:01:10. > :01:12.train doors to drivers, and disputes the train operators'
:01:13. > :01:17.promise that it would not put safety at risk.
:01:18. > :01:21.Northern want to have 50% of services by 2020 operating
:01:22. > :01:23.what they call driver-controlled operation - that's the operation
:01:24. > :01:27.of a train without a guard - and similar on Merseyrail,
:01:28. > :01:30.with the introduction of new services and, again,
:01:31. > :01:33.they want to see services operated without a safety-critical guard
:01:34. > :01:34.on board, and that's unacceptable to us.
:01:35. > :01:37.Northern Rail - the biggest train operator in the region -
:01:38. > :01:40.says only 40% of services are likely to operate tomorrow.
:01:41. > :01:43.It says it will provide around 300 rail replacement bus services
:01:44. > :01:48.And Northern Rail tickets will also be accepted
:01:49. > :01:54.What we've had to do is focus our timetable about moving
:01:55. > :01:56.people where we have conductors available, or managers
:01:57. > :02:01.who are conducted trained, available to operate.
:02:02. > :02:04.We're looking at our core flows, which are between cities
:02:05. > :02:07.We're not able to service every area.
:02:08. > :02:09.We have put bus replacements on to supplement that
:02:10. > :02:11.and I would encourage people to visit the website.
:02:12. > :02:13.Merseyrail hopes to run trains every half hour
:02:14. > :02:21.The train service that we plan to operate is very much dependent
:02:22. > :02:26.on resources being available on the day.
:02:27. > :02:29.We would urge our customers to check our website -
:02:30. > :02:31.Merseyrail.org - and also follow us live on Twitter @Merseyrail,
:02:32. > :02:33.where further details will be available, should there be any
:02:34. > :02:37.With many rail passengers expected to use the roads instead,
:02:38. > :02:40.everyone is being urged to leave extra time for their journeys.
:02:41. > :02:44.Naomi Cornwell, BBC North West Tonight.
:02:45. > :02:46.An airline which has been operating flights between Blackpool
:02:47. > :02:49.and the Isle of Man has gone into liquidation.
:02:50. > :02:51.Citywing said the decision was taken after a company operating
:02:52. > :02:54.flights on its behalf, Van Air, lost permission to fly
:02:55. > :02:59.after an incident last month at Ronaldsway Airport.
:03:00. > :03:02.All of Citywing's flights have now been cancelled.
:03:03. > :03:06.More than ?275,000 has been raised for the children of a couple
:03:07. > :03:10.who died of cancer within days of each other in Wirral.
:03:11. > :03:14.This photo of Mike and Julie Bennet holding hands during their last
:03:15. > :03:18.moments together was seen by millions of people online,
:03:19. > :03:22.after it was shared by their family following their deaths last month.
:03:23. > :03:25.The money raised means their three children can now continue
:03:26. > :03:30.Merseyside fire crews remain at the scene of a huge blaze
:03:31. > :03:34.at a scrap metal recycling plant on the waterfront in Sefton.
:03:35. > :03:38.As many as 40 firefighters have been trying to put out the flames today
:03:39. > :03:41.at Alexandra Dock in Bootle, after the fire broke out
:03:42. > :03:44.Local residents are still being advised to keep
:03:45. > :03:48.Investigators are expected to be on site next week
:03:49. > :03:53.A man's been arrested on suspicion of affray after a 48-hour armed
:03:54. > :04:00.Officers had surrounded a house on Kingsdown Close in Weston
:04:01. > :04:05.on Thursday lunchtime after a man with a crossbow refused to leave.
:04:06. > :04:08.A 56-year-old is being questioned by detectives.
:04:09. > :04:14.In the Premier League's only game today, Burnley opened the score
:04:15. > :04:24.against Liverpool at Anfield, with this goal from Ashley Barnes.
:04:25. > :04:29.But the Reds fought back to finish 2-1 up.
:04:30. > :04:32.In Super League, Widnes failed to score at home against the early
:04:33. > :04:34.season league leaders, Castleford this afternoon,
:04:35. > :04:36.Meanwhile, a last-gasp conversion foiled a Salford fightback
:04:37. > :04:39.and earned Wakefield back-to-back Super League wins at Belle Vue.
:04:40. > :04:41.Thousands of people lined the streets for the annual
:04:42. > :04:43.St Patrick's Day parade in Manchester City
:04:44. > :04:53.The hour-long parade finished at Albert Square,
:04:54. > :04:56.where there's also been live music and Irish markets as part
:04:57. > :04:59.Now here's Alex Hamilton with the weather..
:05:00. > :05:02.Well, we've had a rather mixed bag across the North West
:05:03. > :05:05.On one hand, beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine.
:05:06. > :05:08.On the other hand, rather cloudy, drizzly picture at times.
:05:09. > :05:11.If we have a look at the charts, the front that were responsible
:05:12. > :05:14.If we have a look at the charts, the fronts that were responsible
:05:15. > :05:17.for that are moving out of the way and high pressure is building
:05:18. > :05:20.for tomorrow and the first part of the new working week.
:05:21. > :05:22.So we are expecting slightly more settled conditions.
:05:23. > :05:25.As we go through the course of tonight, still few showers
:05:26. > :05:27.Clear spells for a time overnight as well.
:05:28. > :05:31.We should mostly stay frost-free, though.
:05:32. > :05:33.And as we go towards tomorrow morning, that cloud starts
:05:34. > :05:37.A few showers first thing, but then, over the course of the day,
:05:38. > :05:40.as the cloud starts to thin and break, some brighter spells
:05:41. > :05:43.as well and a little bit of sunshine here and there.
:05:44. > :05:47.Highs of around 12 Celsius, so feeling very pleasant
:05:48. > :05:49.where we do see some of that springtime sunshine.
:05:50. > :05:52.Quite settled for the start of the week,
:05:53. > :06:14.Hello, the weather was hit-and-miss today across the UK, bit of
:06:15. > :06:18.sunshine, a few spots of rain, the skies are clearing now, particularly
:06:19. > :06:22.in western area, and unlike the last few nights, this coming night, it is
:06:23. > :06:25.going to turn chilly, there is a touch of frost on the way, these are
:06:26. > :06:28.clouds from today. Some of it rain bearing, this gap in the weather,
:06:29. > :06:32.that is going to be over the UK, during the course of the night so
:06:33. > :06:36.hence the temperatures will dip away. So by the early hours of
:06:37. > :06:38.Monday morning it is clear, most of England