Fears of more train chaos in the North West despite timetable change

The failure to resolve staffing issues means the cancellation of thousands of trains in recent months will continue - despite new timetables, it has been claimed.

A number of routes which suffered cuts earlier this year have been given more trains in the new schedules, introduced on Sunday, 11 December.

But, there are fears disruption to services across northern England will continue.

Many rail workers are refusing to volunteer for shifts on their rest days amid long-running industrial relations dispute.

There is also a backlog with training new staff due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Operators have often resorted to removing trains from schedules the night before, meaning they are not officially classed as cancelled.

Timetable changes by TransPennine Express (TPE) - one of the companies affected by staffing problems - include reintroducing services between Manchester and Scotland via the West Coast Main Line and extending the route between Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire and Manchester to serve Liverpool.

But Henri Murison, chief executive of business group Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said he was concerned the changes will not lead to improved performance.

He said: “We needed a rest day working agreement by the end of last week in order to speed up the training process for new drivers, which is the root cause of this chaos on our railways.

"Having missed that deadline, TransPennine Express will not have enough fully trained drivers ready when the timetable change comes into effect this Sunday, meaning we’re likely to see continued disruption for the foreseeable.

“Instead of cancelling trains the night before, TPE should avoid putting in the timetable the services they know they won’t be able to run.”

TPE customer service and operations director Kathryn O’Brien said its new timetable is “designed to give our customers improved connectivity”.

She added: “The changes mean we have had to make some adjustments to existing services and we need all customers to make themselves familiar with the timetables and to check carefully before travelling.”

Avanti West Coast is planning a 40% increase in services from around 190 daily trains to 264, after cutting its schedules in August to limit short-notice cancellations.

In each direction, the London Euston-Manchester route will return to three trains per hour, while London Euston-Birmingham will get two trains per hour plus a third at peak times.

There will also be more direct services between the capital and North Wales via Chester.

Operators will be heavily restricted in using new timetables next week due to strikes by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper told the Commons Transport Select Committee on Wednesday it is a “tragedy” that Avanti West Coast passengers “are not going to see the benefit” of its new timetable when the walkout happens.

Train operator Northern said it is making “significant changes” to the times and routes of its services in North West England.

The company claim is partly aimed at improving the reliability of trains in the Manchester area, and making them more regularly spaced.

Northern warned passengers that “a small number of trains” may be temporarily cancelled up to 48 hours before the date of travel while “we adjust our resources to the new timetable”.

Customers are urged to check for updates on their day of travel.

Rail timetables are changed every May and December.

The May 2018 version sparked major disruption across large parts of the network, particularly on Northern.

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