A petition has been launched in a bid to reinstate Sunday rail services.

One year has passed since a train last stopped at Congleton railway station on a Sunday.

Now, more than 400 people have signed a petition calling on the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road to demand from Northern Trains.

Congleton MP Sarah Russell is among those to pledge her support to the cause.

She said: "A year is far too long for Congleton to have been without a Sunday train service.

"It stops residents travelling - whether for work or leisure - from close to home, forcing them to go outside of the area just to access more reliable transport.

"I'm backing this petition to help restore Sunday trains for Congleton."

ALSO READ: 'This cannot continue' - Rail advocate to mark one year since Congleton's last Sunday service

Northern Trains reduced their Sunday timetable amid a dispute over rest days (Credit: Network Rail)

Northern introduced a reduced Sunday timetable on several lines in the North West last year.

This was done to reduce the number of short-notice cancellations caused by issues with traincrew availability as a result of a dispute with RMT Union over rest days.

A Northern spokesperson said: "Getting to a place where we are no longer reliant on conductors in the North West volunteering to work Sundays remains a priority.

"We have made good progress in talks with the union and will continue to work towards reaching a new agreement."

The petition, launched earlier this month by Suzanne Firkin, calls for 'a more equitable share' of the available Northern train crews so that a Sunday service can be restored for Congleton.

Furthermore, Suzanne would like to see certain CrossCountry services stop at Congleton on Sundays.

Finally, she has asked for confirmation of and a commitment to a date when a 'sufficiently robust seven day timetable' will resume.

Suzanne said: "This unacceptable failure by Northern Trains to provide a Sunday train service has continued for far too long.

"The lack of Sunday trains makes weekend trips from our local station of Congleton all but impossible.

"For a town the size of Congleton, which is rapidly expanding, the lack of a full seven day per week timetable is not an acceptable level of service."

The petition can be found on Change.org here.