Timetable change will boost capital rail journeys

LONDON Northwestern Railway (LNR) has announced it will introduce faster trains along its Euston to Liverpool route, as well as extra Sunday services.

LNR, whose services call at various stations between the two destinations including many across the West Midlands, will introduce a new timetable later this month.

It said a change to calling patterns south of Birmingham will mean that every weekday, five services will arrive in the capital 30 minutes quicker than they do at the moment.

The new timetable, which comes into effect on Sunday, December 15, also introduces 18 direct trains between Liverpool and London on Sundays, creating extra journey opportunities for passengers.

As well as that, changes to calling patterns on many services between Coventry and Birmingham will also help relieve congestion for Liverpool-bound services, reducing delays, said LNR, which is a part of West Midlands Railway.

Jonny Wiseman, head of customer experience for LNR, said: “The new timetable we introduced in May brought in new journey opportunities and allowed us to carry more passengers but it also introduced complexity which has impacted on reliability.

“The changes we are making this month will simplify the timetable, meaning our passengers in Liverpool should start to enjoy a more reliable service, with more improvements to follow next year.”

The West Midlands Railway franchise is set to run until 2025/26.