May 2025 Timetable Change - Confirmed Changes Only

[greataj]

Does anybody know what the planned service pattern is for the new Beaulieu Park station on the GEML when it opens? I'm guessing Liverpool St to Ipswich and Colchester Town services will, but anything else? I'm sure it must've been discussed somewhere but struggling to find anything.

 

[Alfie1014]

Does anybody know what the planned service pattern is for the new Beaulieu Park station on the GEML when it opens? I'm guessing Liverpool St to Ipswich and Colchester Town services will, but anything else? I'm sure it must've been discussed somewhere but struggling to find anything.

If you look on Real Time Trains from the new timetable (an example here https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Y09361/2025-05-21/detailed) the stops are in but shown as unadvertised. Indeed the times for the extra stops are already in some trains, I travelled on the 16:42 ex Liv St this week and it sat at Witham from 17:23 until 17:27 waiting time.

 

[FenMan]

Unsure if this has been mentioned ...

The Mon - Fri Reading (d. 2022) to Shalford (a. 2111) service is extended to Gatwick Airport (a. 2157).
The return working departs Gatwick at 2201, arriving at Reading at 2321.

Also the 2059 Gatwick departure to Reading, which is currently an ECS move, becomes a passenger service.

These changes extend the 2tph departure pattern from Gatwick from 2030 to 2230 - good news for passengers arriving on evening flights.

 

[RHolmes]

Northern are expected to return to full operation of the Leeds to Huddersfield via Dewsbury service for May 2025, meaning Cottingley/White Rose, Morley and Batley will no longer be served by any Transpennine Express services

Just to provide an update on this

It has now been confirmed internally that the last TPE service will now be Friday 29th August 2025.

The current “Northern only” and “TPE only” fares will continue to be accepted on each others stopping services on an extended basis (until this date, after which all Leeds to Huddersfield local stopping services will be operated by Northern from Saturday 30th August 2025 (although for the first week there is a partial bus replacement to Brighouse via Deighton for connecting services to Leeds all stations)

 

[voyagerdude220]

They are on realtime trains, but showing as 'running as required', akin to a freight working. That means they haven't confirmed whether they are running or not, hence they're not showing in booking engines.

I'm not sure why any of this is, I was also under the impression that they'd reintroduce a few direct via Trent Valley services.

Looking on Realtime Trains for late May, it's not showing a 12:18 departure from Preston towards London Euston via Birmingham at all on weekdays.

 

[Llandudno]

Just to provide an update on this

It has now been confirmed internally that the last TPE service will now be Friday 29th August 2025.

The current “Northern only” and “TPE only” fares will continue to be accepted on each others stopping services on an extended basis (until this date, after which all Leeds to Huddersfield local stopping services will be operated by Northern from Saturday 30th August 2025 (although for the first week there is a partial bus replacement to Brighouse via Deighton for connecting services to Leeds all stations)

Not sure if this is good news or not with Northern’s reliability issues caused by lack of train crew especially at weekends?

The quality of trains used will certainly be a downgrade.

 

[paulmch]

Based on Realtimetrains it seems that Whittlesea is gaining an extra eastbound train during the week. The 16:52 from Birmingham to Cambridge will call there at 19:05 making for a (roughly) hourly service in the evening peak.

 

[dk1]

Based on Realtimetrains it seems that Whittlesea is gaining an extra eastbound train during the week. The 16:52 from Birmingham to Cambridge will call there at 19:05 making for a (roughly) hourly service in the evening peak.

That’s good that the additional late afternoon Birmingham-Cambridge service is calling. Last year passenger numbers at Whittlesea were around 20% up on pre-pandemic.

 

[lione87023]

Looking on Realtime Trains for late May, it's not showing a 12:18 departure from Preston towards London Euston via Birmingham at all on weekdays.

This is because it’s not been confirmed whether the train will run as 9A53 ex Blackpool North or 9M53 ex Glasgow Central.

 

[Jamesrob637]

I think the only other slight change on GA as mentioned earlier is that a couple of up Saturday morning Norwich services omit Colchester with subsequent 720 replacement starting there.

Excellent to see XC back properly at the airport.

Is 13:41 arrival for a 16:10 flight ok? Plus potentially at least a half in the Windmill? There's no 12:41 arrival until May, and I'd be travelling next month. Like you, I'm glad to see XC back hourly at Stansted.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Is 13:41 arrival for a 16:10 flight ok? Plus potentially at least a half in the Windmill? There's no 12:41 arrival until May, and I'd be travelling next month. Like you, I'm glad to see XC back hourly at Stansted.

It’s up to you, but bear in mind if the 13:41 arriving service is then cancelled, you’ve got just over an hour to make it to the terminal, drop bags if necessary, pass one of the UK‘s most notoriously busy security queues, and then get to the gates of which some are now a very long walk with the shuttle closed, before the gate closes some ten fifteen minutes before the departure time.

Just to add to my Cross Country based post from last night- I've just also noticed the additional calls at Worcestershire Parkway- seems to be (on Weekdays) every hour on the Plymouth to Scotland workings northbound, but it's the Manchester to Bristol services which call southbound.

This is an interesting observation. Its probably due to XC’s main priority for these calls being a connection to Bristol and a strengthened connection to Birmingham, probably the primary uses for the station as a park and ride facility beyond Worcester itself, and it doesn’t really matter which of these calls for these two destinations as they both serve it.

Therefore, as the ex Plymouth and ex Manchester probably had the most slack to allow the calls, they’ve gone for these.

 

[Jamesrob637]

It’s up to you, but bear in mind if the 13:41 arriving service is then cancelled, you’ve got just over an hour to make it to the terminal, drop bags if necessary, pass one of the UK‘s most notoriously busy security queues, and then get to the gates of which some are now a very long walk with the shuttle closed, before the gate closes some ten fifteen minutes before the departure time.


This is an interesting observation. Its probably due to XC’s main priority for these calls being a connection to Bristol and a strengthened connection to Birmingham, probably the primary uses for the station as a park and ride facility beyond Worcester itself, and it doesn’t really matter which of these calls for these two destinations as they both serve it.

Therefore, as the ex Plymouth and ex Manchester probably had the most slack to allow the calls, they’ve gone for these.

Thank you.

Also, I'm looking for the Manchester to Nuneaton trains on 31 May and can't see them. They usually leave Manchester at 35 past the hour. Is AvantiWestCoast finalised yet?

 

[lione87023]

Thank you.

Also, I'm looking for the Manchester to Nuneaton trains on 31 May and can't see them. They usually leave Manchester at 35 past the hour. Is AvantiWestCoast finalised yet

Diversions via the West Midlands that week.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Diversions via the West Midlands that week.

Thanks: will trains on 07 June be affected too, or is it just one weekend? Avanti tickets for 07 June don't go on sale until this Saturday (12 weeks in advance) anyway.

 

[lione87023]

Thanks: will trains on 07 June be affected too, or is it just one weekend? Avanti tickets for 07 June don't go on sale until this Saturday (12 weeks in advance) anyway.

I don’t believe so but the 31st of May is day 8 of a 9 day block of the Trent Valley line.

 

[Gwr12345]

For the Tees Valley line are there any major changes? I can't see any on RTT, but the Weardale Railway has designed their timetable so that there train reaches Bishop Auckland at 11:40, saying it will be in sync with the Northern Service? Is it Weardale getting confused with December 25, or have the timings from Bishop Auckland changed?

 

[Tetragon213]

Where do people get the information for timetable changes from?

 

[jfollows]

Where do people get the information for timetable changes from?

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...25-05-20/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt for example

 

[Bald Rick]

Where do people get the information for timetable changes from?

Mostly from interrogating ‘Realtime Trains’ or similar websites which take the timetable data from Network Rail’s planning systems as it is published.

Or in some cases, because they wrote the timetables themselves

 

[JRT]

For the Tees Valley line are there any major changes? I can't see any on RTT, but the Weardale Railway has designed their timetable so that there train reaches Bishop Auckland at 11:40, saying it will be in sync with the Northern Service? Is it Weardale getting confused with December 25, or have the timings from Bishop Auckland changed?

Weardale getting confused with December 25 timetable, as the times would link up and these don't.

There's no changes to NORTHERN services this May, so the waiting time at Bishop Auckland will be the same after the timetable change.

 

[Tetragon213]

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...25-05-20/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt for example

Mostly from interrogating ‘Realtime Trains’ or similar websites which take the timetable data from Network Rail’s planning systems as it is published.

Or in some cases, because they wrote the timetables themselves

Thanks for the info!

Having had a quick look, it seems as if the Castle Class HST services are still pathed as such:

I was under the impression the HSTs were to be discontinued after the May timetable change?

 

[hexagon789]

I was under the impression the HSTs were to be discontinued after the May timetable change?

Pushed back to December I thought?

 

[Blindtraveler]

Gwr wouldn't manage the summer season without them surely

 

[jfollows]

Thanks for the info!

Having had a quick look, it seems as if the Castle Class HST services are still pathed as such:
View attachment 176430
I was under the impression the HSTs were to be discontinued after the May timetable change?

Also, what something is pathed as doesn’t mean it’s what stock it will be using - for example we had DMU paths for Crewe-Wilmslow-Liverpool services for a number of years following electrification. Something else that can match the scheduled timings can be diagrammed instead.

 

[Wivenswold]

Quite, many of the services operated by Greater Anglia's 720s were scheduled with (and showed) Class 321s timings.
While the dwell times on services operated by 720s was somewhat irritating, it makes sense to time trains to the slower rolling stock until they're all extinct.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Gwr wouldn't manage the summer season without them surely

You say that, but they literally use three on shuttles up and down between Plymouth and Penzance all day, one of which only does a half day anyway, and none at all on Sundays.

 

[Bikeman78]

Quite, many of the services operated by Greater Anglia's 720s were scheduled with (and showed) Class 321s timings.
While the dwell times on services operated by 720s was somewhat irritating, it makes sense to time trains to the slower rolling stock until they're all extinct.

The dwell times were irritating with class 321. E.g. down Southend trains waited for so long at Shenfield that it was possible for the following train to arrive across the island platform before they departed. I hate to think how much the class 720 hang about.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

You say that, but they literally use three on shuttles up and down between Plymouth and Penzance all day, one of which only does a half day anyway, and none at all on Sundays.

One round trip to Exeter as well. Taking 5 PLY-PNZ round trips out of the timetable would certainly cause some issues in high summer season.

 

[Bikeman78]

You say that, but they literally use three on shuttles up and down between Plymouth and Penzance all day, one of which only does a half day anyway, and none at all on Sundays.

What would run those services instead? Given the shortage of units in general.

 

[Zerothebrake!]

XC have an 06.40 Bristol/ Penzance which forms the 11.30 back through to Edinburgh then there's a 07.04 Edinburgh/Penzance which goes back to Birmingham at 18.13 stopping at all of the principal stations in Cornwall.