Why can’t I buy an August bank holiday train ticket?
Q What’s happening to trains between London to Manchester over the bank holiday weekend? Why can’t I buy a ticket? Have they sold out?
Heirloom Rose
A Avanti West Coast, which runs trains on the West Coast Main Line, including between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, is not having a great August. Until 30 August, the train operator says: “Avanti West Coast timetables are amended
to manage staff shortages and ensure a reliable service, so you can travel with confidence.”
Instead of the usual three trains per hour, there is “one train per hour to Manchester calling at Milton Keynes, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport” – plus extra trains “on Fridays during selected hours between 10am and 6pm”. Avanti West Coast says: “We strongly recommend you book a place on your preferred service and only travel on that train.”
But as you have found, that is not possible – because engineering work is rearing its disruptive head. While rail use is much higher at weekends than during the week, big rail projects are still locked into the idea that weekends are quieter. In particular, August bank holiday has long been regarded as a great time to carry out engineering work because passenger numbers are so low. Almost unbelievably, the London-Manchester timetable between Saturday 28 and Monday 30 August will not be revealed until 20 August.
A spokesperson for Network Rail told me things may change by next summer: “Travel patterns have obviously shifted over the past year or so and we will carefully monitor how this evolves as restrictions ease and more people return to workplaces. Our approach to scheduling works will be based on this longer-term picture.”
Until then, the best I can advise is that you sign up for an advance travel alert with Avanti West Coast. “Tell us when you’re looking to travel and we’ll email you on the day advance tickets go on sale,” says the train operator.
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