More timetable changes ahead and bigger push to travel?

TRAIN Operating Companies (TOCs) are expected to announce the next round of timetable changes in mid-August (August 18 is likely) ahead of their introduction on September 8. This is expected to be accompanied by Government efforts to encourage more people to return to public transport.

The DfT is currently funding passenger operators and had been calling for a full restoration of the pre-Covid timetables, but it is now understood this will not happen at a number of TOCs.

Some service frequencies will remain lower than before the pandemic. Planned timetable increases that had formed part of franchise agreements are, in some cases, to be abandoned, and it looks like fewer but longer trains.

In a few cases there will be some very significant changes to services, with TOCs reporting poor punctuality, such as Northern and WMT, seeking to retain the very significant performance improvements evident during the operation of reduced timetables. One particular surprise has been the announcement that the Rose Hill Marple to Manchester Piccadilly via Hyde Central service will be suspended completely from early September through to the next official timetable change in mid-December.

The news forms part of a statement by Northern, which says: “It will not be possible to restore pre-Covid levels for some time due to the number of colleagues who are classified as vulnerable; the amount of training still to be completed on both our new trains/Class 769 fleet; and the natural attrition of operational staff (their replacements still to be trained).”

The return of passengers is still uncertain, and there are some suggestions the traditional bi-annual timetable changes will be abandoned for some time, with more frequent adjustments being made to respond to demand to help manage the situation as a result of the coronavirus, any future spikes and the rolling out of vaccines.