NORTHERN has told football fans across the region "to go do your thing" ahead of the new season.

The train operator said it has made improvements to trains and stations across its network as part of the Better Way to Go campaign.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “During the past 18 months we’ve invested in significant improvements across our network. We’ve completed the introduction of our new trains, have fully refurbished our older trains and enhanced the majority of our stations.

“As football fans return to the network this weekend for the start of the new Premier League season, they will see palpable changes wherever they travel.”

Northern has introduced more ways for customers to buy tickets with better value fares available direct from Northern using the mobile app.

It has also introduced 600 new ticket vending machines as well improvements to web purchasing.

Mark added: “Our message to customers is clear. Thanks to the improvements we’ve made and the new ticketing options available, there has never been a better time to use Northern to go do your thing.”

Northern continues to provide enhanced cleaning at its stations and on-board its trains.

Northern has more than 600 dedicated cleaning staff working on trains and at stations with a particular focus on touch points (tables, buttons and toilets). The enhanced cleaning regime is designed to protect customers and staff by reducing the potential risk of virus transmission.

The operator is also asking customers to be considerate of others and, if able, to continue wearing face coverings on trains and at stations.