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Rail passengers warned as new timetable comes into effect across UK Rail passengers warned as new timetable comes into effect across UK
(about 11 hours later)
Commuters told to check journey details on first weekday of new timetableCommuters told to check journey details on first weekday of new timetable
UK rail commuters have been urged to check their journey details on their way to work as the new railway timetable came into force. Severe delays and cancellations on the first working day of a new timetable have led to fresh calls for action on northern railways, including stripping the rail operators of their franchises.
Industry groups have promised more services, shorter journeys and new routes becoming possible across the country as a result of the changes. The worst disruption came on TransPennine Express, where almost 50% of early trains were cancelled or more than half an hour late, followed by Northern, which had almost one in 10 services seriously disrupted among a total of one in three delayed by mid-afternoon on Monday.
These will include the first non-stop trains running between London and Bristol in decades, plus 1,000 extra services each week, according to the industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Train operators insisted that the disruption was unrelated to the introduction of a new timetable, after taking steps to avert the problems after a previous changeover 18 months ago.
The RDG has sought to reassure passengers over the new timetable, saying the industry had put “years of work into drafting, consulting and planning” for the changes. On Monday, passengers faced staff shortages, signalling problems, train faults and ongoing industrial action.
Robert Nisbet, the RDG’s director of nations and regions, has urged passengers to check their journey details in advance as many times are changing. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, said the rail disruption had gone on far too long. “If the government is serious about supporting the north, then it needs to show it by acting this week to sort out our failing rail services.
“Train operators and Network Rail will be working together to run a reliable service and respond quickly to any teething problems as people get used to the change,” Nisbet said. “As a first step, it should strip Northern of its franchise. That would send a clear signal to all rail operators – notably TransPennine Express – that we will not accept a second-class rail service for people in the north. If TransPennine Express fails to respond to that message, they should be next.”
Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said ministers had “stood by for years as Northern failed to recruit and retain enough staff and cut services”. He said that after another “botched timetable introduction” there was a responsibility to hold Northern’s owner, Arriva, to account.
Northern said that very few of its 2,800 daily services had changed because of the timetable, and that the “relatively small” disruption was because of operational issues, including driver sickness, signalling failure and train faults.
Industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said the problems were unrelated to the new timetable and most services were running as planned, at the same level of reliability as a week ago.
TransPennine Express said its delays had been caused by the late delivery of some of its new trains, with a maintenance backlog. It is operating a temporary reduced timetable on routes from Liverpool Lime Street to Edinburgh while it trains up crew for the new fleet.
Some services in the south struggled too in the morning, with continuing strike action on South Western Railway, where half of trains ran late in the morning peak.
Passengers on Great Western Railway were hit by cancellations and delays between Reading and London Paddington due to a signalling fault.
Robert Nisbet, RDG’s director of nations and regions, said: “There are a number of unrelated incidents affecting a small proportion of journeys this morning. More services are running than before the timetable change and passengers will benefit from 1,000 more services a week.”
Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers don’t care what causes the disruption – they just want things running again as soon as possible, and plenty of visible staff on hand to help them in the meantime.”
Teething problems were in evidence when the timetable came into effect on Sunday, with Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales reporting a number of cancellations and delays.Teething problems were in evidence when the timetable came into effect on Sunday, with Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales reporting a number of cancellations and delays.
Train timetables are changed twice a year, in May and December.Train timetables are changed twice a year, in May and December.
The infamous, botched change of May 2018 led to chaos, and passenger watchdog Transport Focus said travellers would be hoping for a smoother introduction with the latest changes.
The latest amendments represent the most comprehensive timetable change on the Great Western Railway network since the 1970s, taking advantage of Network Rail’s electrification of the line between London and Bristol, and the operator’s new intercity express trains.
Non-stop trains between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway will have journey times as short as one hour and eight minutes, shaving 12 minutes off the existing quickest services.
Major improvements are also being promised on the ScotRail network, with additional services in north-east Scotland and extra seats between Edinburgh and Glasgow.