Northern have put their track access application in for the December 2019 timetable. It is now publically available at the following address: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/indus...on-operating-companies/sale-of-access-rights/
Whilst we won't see the timetable details for a while yet, I thought I would outline the main bits from the document.
- An extra daily service Middlesbrough to Whitby & return
- New daily service between Middlesbrough & Newcastle (10 north, 11 south) via Stillington & ECML calling Thornaby, Stockton, Durham and Chester-le-Street
- New Horden station added to calls on coast stopper
- 1846 Carlisle to Whitehaven moved to 2000
- A new Sunday morning 0830 Blackburn to Preston
- New service from Halifax to Hull via Bradford, Leeds & Selby including the current Leeds-Selby service. (Calls at Bradford, New Pudsey, Bramley, Leeds, Crossgates, Garforth, E Garforth, Micklefield, S Milford, Selby, Brough)
- Huddersfield-Leeds local service to be curtailed at Bradford
- An extra service Leeds to Hull / return, Huddersfield to Bradford / return
- Sunday Leeds to Lancaster services extended to Morecambe
- New daily service between York and Scarborough, 15 Mon-Sat and 13 Sunday services each direction (should be hourly).
- Linking the York-Hull & Hull-Bridlington together as one through service
- Alderley Edge & Stalybridge to Wigan services extended to Southport in place of existing services from Leeds & Blackburn that will be curtailed at Wigan Wallgate
- Hourly mid-Cheshire Sunday services
- 0749 Macclesfield-Manchester to start back from Stoke
It also mentions there were other services that they are currently unable to bid for due to pressures on performance that were promised in the TSR and they will continue pushing for these to be implemented.
With the Huddersfield-Bradford-Leeds service being curtailed to Huddersfield-Bradford I hope Low Moor gains a call from another direct Leeds service, I don’t think a change at Bradford would go down well as I would estimate 90% of passengers boarding the current Leeds services all travel through to Leeds.
The Blackpool to York trains seem to drop Sowerby Bridge after the change, removing a third of the station's services.
This was a recent (and rather strange, given the Northern Connect idea) addition to the Blackpool-York route. Did it replace calls on another service?
Seems the lack of certainty of having enough drivers working on a Sunday has knocked out the December 2019 proposals for hourly Sunday services on Mid Cheshire Line. Been a franchise requirement for December 2017.
Two trains an hour on weekdays is still an "aspiration" as well .
Mike Amesbury MP blasts further delay to two trains an hour for Northwich passengers https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk...s-delay-two-trains-hour-northwich-passengers/
One fairly random change in the data I've seen is this:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y56865/2020/01/15/advanced
The Hexham to Danby train will now only go as far as Castleton Moor, but will call additionally at Kildale.
I do recall some saying that Castleton was a substantially more useful terminating point, considering that Danby station isn't all that close to the village?
Early morning service is also in the system as the 0453 Middlesbrough to Whitby and 0627 return.
Castleton Moor gives a better margin for delays.
As well as Middlesbrough - Newcastle via Stillington and hourly Sunday services on the mid-Cheshire line, the other proposal not to make it in is the hourly York - Scarborough service. Horden station is also not shown, but may be confirmed nearer the time. Everything else appears to be included.
Sowerby Bridge is supposed to get calls on this service because it's Northern Connect.
Is the "aspiration" still to have two trains an hour from Chester to Altrincham (with one of them continuing on to Manchester Piccadilly)? Wasn't the original plan to have a second train per hour from Greenbank to Manchester Piccadilly before that was quashed?
Is this lack of staff (presumably so for the Sunday service), lack of trains or have Network Rail said no to the principle of there ever being a service via Stillington or 2tph to Scarborough?
Interestingly there is a handful of ECS moves at Middlesbrough presumably related to these (5Hxx) currently showing. Presume these will disappear!Network Rail don't have the paths on the ECML for Stillington.
There's some surprises in there such as the Sheffield - Hull stopper being split at Doncaster with the arrival from Sheffield going down to Adwick empty before coming back to form the return to Sheffield
It's a station to be served by Northern Connect because that encompasses almost every service along the Calder Valley. As far as I'm aware this never meant such a station would be served by every passing train.
Network Rail don't have the paths on the ECML for Stillington.
The wolds coast route becomes mostly Sheffield-Scarborough throughout the day with one Scarborough-Hull-Selby-York service at 08:15.
Does this mean the Newcastle-Middlesbrough via Stillington will never go ahead, or is it possible paths will be made available in the future?
Network Rail don't have the paths on the ECML for Stillington.
If paths can't be found now, the chances of paths being found in the future are slim.Does this mean the Newcastle-Middlesbrough via Stillington will never go ahead, or is it possible paths will be made available in the future?
I think the service is a commitment, but necessarily the route, in theory the service could run up the Durham coast line, missing out some stations. eg calls at Middlesbrough-Thornaby-Stockton-Hartlepool-Sunderland-Newcastle. It might give a slightly quicker service than the normal stopping service, but not much quicker.I’m not sure, I didn’t find out that much detail. I’d assume they’d have to find a way around it as isn’t it a franchise agreement?
Likewise Mytholmroyd.Sowerby Bridge is supposed to get calls on this service because it's Northern Connect.
It returned Sowerby Bridge to Bradford to the 2tph it'd had for over 20 years but lost in 2009 (though a long way off being half hourly).
It seems odd for the Chester service to call at Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd (and soon Low Moor also) while the service terminating at Victoria runs fast Halifax - Hebden Bridge. Presumably a pathing issue.Indeed, the Leeds - Chester trains will stop at Low Moor from December. From Bradford, they are evenly spaced with the Bradford - Huddersfield trains, but unfortunately the northbound calls are only 7/8 minutes apart.
One fairly random change in the data I've seen is this:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y56865/2020/01/15/advanced
The Hexham to Danby train will now only go as far as Castleton Moor, but will call additionally at Kildale.
I do recall some saying that Castleton was a substantially more useful terminating point, considering that Danby station isn't all that close to the village?
Early morning service is also in the system as the 0453 Middlesbrough to Whitby and 0627 return.
There are also no Blackpool to Manchester Airport services loaded yet, only the Airport to Blackpools.Majority of the Liverpool Lime Street - Crewe (via Manchester Airport) services and vice versa seem to be omitted from RTT (I'm guessing they haven't decided on what to do about these services)?
It also looks like the service patterns for the local stations on the Airport line will be changing again.
There are also no Blackpool to Manchester Airport services loaded yet, only the Airport to Blackpools.