Hourly train services to return in December
HOURLY train services to Chester and Liverpool are to return to Frodsham and Helsby in December in a win for local passengers and campaigners, a Cheshire MP has said.
The town of Frodsham and neighbouring village of Helsby were left with a much reduced service after the lockdown.
The service, which forms the only direct rail link between Frodsham and Liverpool, which ran hourly for a year and a half before the pandemic, was scaled back when Covid19 hit.
Since then, it has run once every two hours in the morning and once every three hours later in the afternoon.
The service was described as “abysmal” by Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury in July.
In June, Transport for Wales announced a further delay to the return of the pre-covid service, blaming the “extremely intricate and complex nature” of its “major programme to introduce new trains”.
In a U-turn that came less than a month later, TfW said the hourly service would in fact be returning in December as promised, rather than in 2024 as previously stated.
Mr Amesbury said: “Transport for Wales is now saying its hourly train service between Chester and Liverpool via Helsby and Frodsham will be reinstated in December after all – having previously said that was no longer possible.
“It’s only happening because passengers, North Cheshire Rail Users Group and I kicked up a fuss.
“In fact, I raised people’s frustrations with chief executive James Price at a meeting in parliament over the summer.
“I do hope on this occasion it does come to pass given the number of false dawns.
“In addition, I’m still receiving complaints about the reliability of the service in terms of delays and cancellations. I will continue to hold the train operator’s feet to the fire to ensure the best outcome for my constituents.”