Timetable transformation for Thameslink trains

GOVIA Thameslink Railway was due to launch the biggest timetable change in a generation from Sunday May 20 (after this issue of

RAIL went to press). GTR has been warning passengers that the first days of the change might not go smoothly, as drivers, train crew, signallers and control room staff get used to the new patterns.

“This is a huge change affecting most of southeast England,” GTR Chief Operating Officer Nick Brown told RAIL.

“Every train we run south of the Thames is changing, and we are increasing capacity by 40%. That is a huge logistical challenge. There will inevitably be some snags, and we are asking people to bear with us.”

GTR operates 3,600 trains a day - that’s one every 24 seconds - and carries almost one in four of all UK rail journeys.

The timing changes for almost every Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express service, and many passengers will find that their trains start and terminate at different stations. For example, many King’s Cross services switch to St Pancras.

GTR says the Thameslink timetable revamp will entail 400 additional services a day, an increase of 13%.

Brown said: “The objective south of the Thames is to improve the reliability and resilience of the timetable. We are stretching some of the times and improving turnaround times, so there is much less knock-on effect from disruption. We are also providing significant new journey opportunities, and that will take time to settle down.

“On the weekend of the timetable change, we are bringing in new trains from all parts of the south of England where we’ve had them in storage for the last few months. It is a huge change - over a thousand train drivers will have their schedules adjusted.

“We have to get every train, every member of train crew, and every new schedule aligned so that the services arrive to get our passengers to work. That’s the hardest part.”

The change is a key element of the decade-long £7 billion Thameslink programme, which has included the rebuilding of London Bridge station and the upgrading of the tunnel beneath the central section to handle 24 trains an hour using automated running.

However, some Great Northern passengers complained that the changes mean older trains and fewer direct services, with stations such as Harpenden experiencing a poorer timetable than previously.

Instead of completing the timetable change in one go this month, GTR and the Department for Transport agreed to spread the impact over a year. The final expansion will happen in December 2019, by which time Thameslink trains will call at 80 more stations than previously.

Bedford, Luton and St Albans all receive around 30% more carriages, Gatwick and Luton Airport Parkway will be connected by two trains an hour, and morning peak services from Brighton to London Bridge rise from three to eight an hour now, and then to 11 an hour from December.

The new route to Peterborough gains all its changes now, which means a 20% increase in seats to London from the station.

“South of the Thames, we need the Thameslink timetable to unlock the Southern timetable,” explained

Brown.

“Southern is an accretion of Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink all piling on top of each other since even before privatisation. We have ended up with a timetable that was found completely wanting. We have an opportunity to put that right.

“We have better turnaround times, less cutting and shunting, and more fixed formations throughout the day. On every parameter that you would choose when building a timetable, this one is better.

“Of course, there are both winners and losers. The benefits are for the wider network. And the changes have significant impact on others as well - overlaying Thameslink affects Midland Main Line and East Coast. There are trade-offs.

“This weekend 740 vehicles move out and 1,120 new vehicles move in. This is a massive fleet replacement - 1,000 drivers have needed training, and 350 drivers change depots.

“We’ve parked up new vehicles in all corners of England for this. We have to keep the trains moving because there isn’t enough space to park them. We couldn’t put them all in the depots if we wanted to.”

Brown echoed the warnings to passengers that have been made in recent weeks: don’t expect everything to go smoothly.

“All timetables changes are sticky for a week or two, but we will get there. Normally we expect 12 weeks notice from Network Rail to validate the timetable. We’ve not had that, so it will be tricky.

“We have come through a lot of pain to get this far, and we can see light at the end of the tunnel. The bottom line is that this is going to provide a significantly better service for a significantly greater number of passengers.”