After a week of ASLEF disruption – Northern’s new timetable takes effect THIS Sunday

The timetable change comes at the end of a period of industrial action by ASLEF, which culminates this Friday (8 December) when Northern will be unable to run any of its 2,500 daily services.

The agreement reached last week between the RMT union and train operators in England was a separate dispute and is unrelated to the current disruption affecting services across the region.

Most Northern services are unaffected by the timetable change from Sunday, but there will be a slight re-timing of some services.

For more information about individual stations, customers should use the ‘Check My Timetable’ feature on the Northern website at: www.northernrailway.co.uk/check-my-timetable.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer for Northern, said: “Whilst the overwhelming majority of our services remain ‘as is’ from Sunday – customers should double check any regular journeys they make – especially those with short connections.

“We’re very conscious that this timetable change immediately follows a period of significant disruption caused by the ASLEF action this week.

“We want to make sure our customers are aware of the upcoming change and would encourage people to use the ‘Check My Timetable’ guide on the website.”

In the North East, an additional two-hourly service will be introduced between Middlesbrough and Newcastle, although they will be unable to call at Hartlepool until platform works are completed.

In the North West, the number of carriages on some services will be increased or decreased to reflect customer demand. Off peak trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Buxton will run with two carriages instead of four and quieter services between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North will operate with four carriages instead of six. In Liverpool, some trains to Wigan will run with three carriages instead of four, while peak-time trains to Manchester Airport via Newton-le-Willows will see an increase in capacity, with services running with four carriages instead of three.

And in Yorkshire, off-peak services between Doncaster and Leeds will run with three carriages instead of four to free-up carriages to boost capacity on morning peak-time services from Knottingley. Extra capacity is being added to the Knottingley to Leeds via Streethouse service, with extra carriages and an additional stop at Outwood; while some services between Bradford and Ilkley, Skipton and Leeds will run with three carriages instead of four. One service between Huddersfield and Sheffield (at 17:51) is being removed from the timetable; and the Leeds to Carlisle service will see a reduction in the number of carriages to reflect the lower demand during the winter months.

More information about the December timetable change can be found at: www.northernrailway.co.uk/travel/timetables/timetable-change.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.