Train operator to cut 165 services per day

NEW train timetables are in disarray, as one operator was forced to axe 165 daily services until the end of July.

Passengers have been hit with hundreds of delays and cancellations since new timetables were introduced across Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and most Northern services on May 20.

Now, Northern has axed dozens of daily trains until the end of next month to improve reliability amid major disruption.

An “interim timetable” will be introduced on Monday with 165 trains removed – 6 per cent of Northern’s total services.

Areas affected by the disruption include Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and the Lakes Line.

Northern insisted it would still run more trains than it did before last month’s timetable change, and expects to “get back to a full timetable service by the end of July”.

David Brown, the firm’s managing director, said: “I would like to apologise on behalf of Northern for the unacceptable service many customers have been subject to.”

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said disruption to GTR services – which include Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express – is damaging the “international reputation” of the capital.

He described the performance of the network as “nothing short of a debacle”.