“Lessons learned” by industry in December timetable changes
As the new winter timetable began operation on December 9, the rail industry says it has learned lessons from the May 2018 timetable change, with the new timetable focusing on better longterm reliability.
However, not all operators changed their timetables - CrossCountry, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Great Western Railway, London Overground, Northern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Railway all largely (if not exclusively) continued with their May timetables.
While many operators have not made major changes, c2c has made a number of alterations. The 0804 Shoeburyness-London Fenchurch Street has been axed and its carriages transferred to the 0800 departure, while the 1618 Laindon-Fenchurch Street and 0859 and 0917 Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness no longer run. However, there is an additional 0740 Fenchurch Street-Grays and 0817 F en church StreetShoe buryness.
Trans Pennine Express is adding extra dwell time at Manchester Airport on its Middlesbrough-Manchester Airport trains, while an amended calling pattern between Manchester Piccadilly and Hull has been introduced with no stops at Slathwaite and Batley. The Manchester Piccadilly--------
Leeds service is being split at Huddersfield, with separate legs to Manchester and Leeds from there.
London North Eastern Railway has reinstated direct trains from London King’s Cross to Stirling, with a southbound departure at 0526 and northbound at 1500.
GTR is to introduce an extra 170 weekday services on its Thameslink and Great Northern routes.
ScotRail has added more than 100 trains to its timetable, including a half-hourly Edinburgh- Glasgow via Cumbernauld and Falkirk Grahamston using Hitachi Class 385s.
Edinburgh-Arbroath services have been extended, providing a near-hourly service at Laurencekirk, Stonehaven and Portlethen. And nine extra trains will run between Inverness and Elgin, providing a near-hourly service.
Extra capacity is also being added on a series of routes including Aberdeen/Inverness to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Glasgow Queen Street to Alloa and Dunblane, Edinburgh-Dunblane, Edinburgh-North Berwick, Glasgow Central-Neilston and Airdrie to Balloch.
Rail Delivery Group Regional Director Robert Nisbet acknowledged concerns about potential disruption, saying: “We know that people in some areas might be concerned about another timetable change, but as the Glaister Review acknowledges the rail industry has worked together to start learning the lessons from May.
“As with the introduction of any new timetable, there may be some pockets of disruption as people get used to new journeys and train times, so we advise people to check before travelling.”