Rail users urged to check before travelling over Christmas season
Major work to upgrade the track layout at Leeds station will disrupt rail travel for 10 days over the Christmas period - when there are no timetabled train services.
Passengers are being advised to check their journey via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator and allow plenty of time.
Due to the complexity of the project, it has been confirmed that there will be changes for passengers from Monday 27 December to Monday 3 January.
Saturday 25 December – Sunday 26 December 2021: No trains are timetabled to run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Monday 27 December 2021 - Saturday 01 January 2022: A reduced train service will run in and out of Leeds station. Some bus replacements will be in place.
Sunday 2 January 2022: Very limited train services will run to and from Leeds. Bus replacements will be in place for passengers.
Monday 3 January 2022: A reduced train service will run in and out of Leeds station. Some bus replacements will be in place.
Rail bosses hope the improvement work at Leeds station will bring more reliable journeys for passengers.
Rail operator Northern, is encouraging everyone to check before they travel between now and into January, as they are operating several amended timetables across the network. This is because of the impact of Covid on the availability of train crews, as well major engineering works taking place.
Northern say that online journey planners, including websites and apps are being updated with any planned cancellation - however, there will be some short notice cancellations on the day.
Saturday 25 December 2021: No Northern services running.
Sunday 26 December 2021: A limited service will operate Liverpool Lime Street – St. Helen’s Central. No other Northern services will operate.
Monday 27 December - Tuesday 28 December 2021: Engineering works significantly affect journeys through Leeds and Manchester. Check your journey before you travel. Some bus replacements will be in place.
Wednesday 29 December - Thursday 30 December 2021: A limited train service will run Leeds – Bradford Interchange and Leeds – Kirkstall Forge with buses replacing most trains.
Friday 31 December 2021: Northern services will end from 19:00. Engineering works will also affect journeys through Leeds. Check your journey before you travel.
Saturday 1 January 2022: Normal services will operate on most routes but will start later than usual. No Northern services will operate in the North East.
Sunday 2 January 2022: A limited Northern train service will run Leeds – York and Leeds – Selby with buses replacing trains on all other routes to/from Leeds.
Monday 3 January 2022: Engineering works significantly affect journeys through Leeds and Manchester. Check yo ur journey before you travel.
The operator is also asking customers to be considerate of others and wear a face covering, unless exempt, on trains and at stations.
TransPennine Express said delays and short-notice cancellations over the next fortnight are due to staff sickness and “a lack of available staff caused by industrial relations issues”.
If a service you had planned to travel on does not operate, your ticket will be valid on the next available TransPennine Express service.
Ticket acceptance arrangements are in place - find out more and check your TransPennine Express journey here.
Hull Trains will introduce a reduced timetable from December 27th as customer demand changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The operator said they will continue to run the majority of services to support customers with travel plans over the Christmas and New Year periods. However, the spread of Omicron and resulting uncertainty does mean that there will be some temporary reductions to services.
Monday 27 December 2021 - Saturday 12 February 2022: Removal of 1908 Hull- London Kings Cross (from Wednesday 29 December) & 0727 London Kings Cross – Hull (from Tuesday 28 December) Monday to Friday only. Removal of 0727 KGX – Hull – Saturday only
Hull Trains, Managing Director, said: