May 2025 Timetable Change - Confirmed Changes Only

[Llandudno]

There is an early morning Birmingham - Holyhead service and a late night Holyhead - Birmingham service linking Holyhead & Birmingham (via Stafford)

The ‘late night’ Holyhead to Birmingham service departs Holyhead at 1948, I appreciate that Holyhead isn’t actually renowned for nightlife but…..!

 

[A S Leib]

The ‘late night’ Holyhead to Birmingham service departs Holyhead at 1948, I appreciate that Holyhead isn’t actually renowned for nightlife but…..!

Given that there's a Stena arrival at 20:00, I think it could benefit from being half an hour later (which would mean missing a London connection from the ex-Edinburgh at Wolverhampton).

 

[Farigiraf]

Noted that Coombe Junction Halt has lost 75% of its weekday trains. Now only 0824 down M-F, 0823 down Sat, and 0924 up Saturday.

Looking at some days in June (with no service alterations), the afternoon service appears to have been moved to about an hour earlier, but not eliminated.

Edit: Upon further inspection, while four services will continue to reverse at Coombe Junction Halt from May (instead of just before the station), it seems only one will actually open doors for passengers - the 08:24 M-F and 08:23 + 09:24 Saturday

 

[jamieintercity]

Scotrail have their timetables up. Only noticeable changes i can see is Leven going half hourly to Edinburgh via Cowdenbeath and dunfermline

 

[The exile]

Given that there's a Stena arrival at 20:00, I think it could benefit from being half an hour later (which would mean missing a London connection from the ex-Edinburgh at Wolverhampton).

An 18 minute connection off a ferry is hardly going to inspire confidence to rely on it!

 

[hexagon789]

Scotrail have their timetables up. Only noticeable changes i can see is Leven going half hourly to Edinburgh via Cowdenbeath and dunfermline

A smaller change - the 0942 from Inverness now goes to Edinburgh (as it did pre-2022) instead of Glasgow, taking pressure off the 1050.

 

[berneyarms]

An 18 minute connection off a ferry is hardly going to inspire confidence to rely on it!

That’s not a connection - you need to allow a minimum of 30 mins at Holyhead given the remoteness of where ships dock.

 

[The exile]

That’s not a connection - you need to allow a minimum of 30 mins at Holyhead given the remoteness of where ships dock.

My point exactly -you’d have to move the 19.48 departure by a lot more than 30 minutes to make the 20.00 ferry arrival relevant.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Changes for Chiltern, as described on their timetable change page:

Weekdays​

• Tuesday - Thursday only
  06.38 Oxford-Marylebone will now be making an open call at High Wycombe at 07.26 – previously this trains was set down only. This train will now appear in online journey planners and will show on station departure screens at High Wycombe.

Saturdays​

This is where we see the biggest set of changes, with the introduction of three new trains in the timetable aimed at relieving the pressure on the heavily used Birmingham line trains.

The three additional trains are 1H28 0946 Banbury-Marylebone, 1H30 10.13 Banbury-Marylebone and 1U51 1737 Marylebone-Banbury running in the evening.

• 1H28 calls at Bicester North-Haddenham & Thame Parkway-High Wycombe on its way to London and is aimed at relieving 1H27 0819 Stourbridge Junction-Marylebone, which no longer calls at either Bicester North or Haddenham & Thame Parkway.
• 1H30 calls at Kings Sutton-Bicester North-Haddenham & Thame Parkway-High Wycombe-Gerrards Cross-Denham-Wembley Stadium on its way to London and is aimed at relieving 1H30 0913 Birmingham Moor Street-Marylebone, which no longer calls at Kings Sutton-Bicester North-Haddenham & Thame Parkway and is non-stop from Banbury to London.
• As a result of 1H30 running, 1Y30 1015 Oxford-Marylebone is no longer booked to call at Gerrards Cross-Denham-Wembley Stadium, which means that after leaving High Wycombe, it calls at Beaconsfield and Seer Green & Jordans only before running non-stop to London. The local Aylesbury-Marylebone train will preserve the connectivity between Beaconsfield and intermediate stations to London. The changes mean that customers at Seer Green & Jordans will see the 1110 departure to London running non-stop.
• 1U51 is booked to run non-stop from London to Beaconsfield, which means that Beaconsfield call comes out of the slightly off pattern 1T51 1746 Marylebone-Oxford service.
• The 2221 Birmingham Moor Street-Banbury is lengthened from a 2-carriage train to a 5-carriage train.

Our timetable is changing | Chiltern Railways

Our new timetable starts on Sunday 18 May 2025The Chiltern Railways May 2025 timetable starts on Sunday 18th May 2025 and has few changes, when compared to the previous timetable.A small number of services have had their times changed by a few minutes with the aim of improving overall...

www.chilternrailways.co.uk

 

[-Colly405-]

Upon further inspection, while four services will continue to reverse at Coombe Junction Halt from May (instead of just before the station), it seems only one will actually open doors for passengers - the 08:24 M-F and 08:23 + 09:24 Saturday

Is it just me that feels this is an odd decision? Is it related to route knowledge?

If a driver only drove the trips that reverse at the junction, would they lose the section north to the station? Are the "signing" rules that specific?

 

[IanXC]

Is it just me that feels this is an odd decision? Is it related to route knowledge?

If a driver only drove the trips that reverse at the junction, would they lose the section north to the station? Are the "signing" rules that specific?

Sounds more like an error in schedules to me.

 

[-Colly405-]

Sounds more like an error in schedules to me.

Possibly, but the GWR's PDFs of their printed leaflets show just 0824 SSuX, 0823 SO to Looe and 0924 SO to Liskeard, so any schedule error would relate to where the non-stoppers reverse

 

[IanXC]

Possibly, but the GWR's PDFs of their printed leaflets show just 0824 SSuX, 0823 SO to Looe and 0924 SO to Liskeard, so any schedule error would relate to where the non-stoppers reverse

The printed PDFs will be derived from the schedule data. If the operational reversal code has been used for the stop rather than the passenger call/reversal stop then the data will be wrong, and the passengers stops won't show. I'd be astounded if GWR are planning trains to reverse at Combe Junction Halt without being a passenger stop, rather than reversing at the Junction, it just makes no sense!

 

[JRT]

More trains for Fife as ScotRail enhance Leven services in May 2025 timetable

ScotRail is set to introduce significant timetable improvements from Sunday, 18 May 2025

www.scotrail.co.uk

Key highlights of the ScotRail timetable include:

More frequent Leven services: Customers in Leven will benefit from an enhanced service frequency, with two trains per-hours throughout the day. The second train per hour operates via Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath, providing better connections for communities across Fife.
Better connections to Dundee: The new timetable creates more journey opportunities for customers who wish to travel from Leven to Dundee. A change in train times means tight connections at Kirkcaldy are minimised, resulting in an improved journey experience.
Late-night service to Tain: The late-night service from Inverness to Tain, which operated prior to the pandemic is being reintroduced as a trial, offering greater flexibility for evening travellers. The change is possible through reducing the number of underused morning peak services from Elgin to Inverness.
Direct morning service from Inverness to Edinburgh Waverley: A new morning service will connect Inverness directly to Edinburgh, providing a convenient travel option for morning commuters, tourists, business, and leisure travellers. The new service replaces an Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street train.

 

[dk1]

Given that there's a Stena arrival at 20:00, I think it could benefit from being half an hour later (which would mean missing a London connection from the ex-Edinburgh at Wolverhampton).

Safer to show it as a non-connection as many would get the wrong idea wrongly thinking it is one. Just not enough time there. The 20:32 would be the official one as TfW/Stena recommended 30min.

 

[Baji]

Any changes to Southern/Gatwick Express/Thameslink services? I haven't found any yet!

These are confirmed changes for Southern, thameslink and Gatwick Express

Key changes to Southern
London Victoria and Bogor Regis – Monday to Saturday

The 21:35 London Victoria to Portsmouth will now split at Barnham, with part of the service departing Barnham at 23:15 to Bognor Regis.

This will provide an additional late-night train from London Victoria to Bognor Regis. The last direct train of the night to Bognor Regis will remain the 22:16.


Littlehampton and Brighton - Saturday
An additional late-night train will depart Littlehampton at 22:22, calling at Angmering, Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham-by-Sea, Portslade, Hove and Brighton.
Barnham and Bognor Regis - Saturday
An additional early morning train will run from Barnham to Bognor Regis, departing Barnham at 05:37.
London Victoria and Ore – Monday to Friday
The 21:21 Ore to London Victoria will now call additionally at Three Bridges at 22:56.

Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and Ore – Monday to Friday
An additional late evening service between Hastings and Eastbourne will depart Hastings at 22:55.
The 21:56 service from Brighton to Eastbourne will be extended and will now terminate at Hastings.
More peak services between Brighton and Ore will now call additionally at Moulsecoomb. This will apply to departures from Brighton at 07:26, 08:26, 09:26, 16:26, 17:26 and 18:26; and to departures from Ore at 15:52 and 16:52.

Brighton and Seaford – Monday to Friday
The 15:06 from Brighton to Seaford will now call additionally at Southease at 15:36.

London Victoria and Dorking – Monday to Friday
The 08:11 service from London Victoria to Dorking will now call additionally at Ewell East at 08:49.

London Bridge and East Croydon – Monday to Friday
An additional late-night service from London Bridge to East Croydon will depart London Bridge at 00:02, calling at Norwood Junction and East Croydon only.

London Bridge and East Croydon via Tulse Hill – Saturday
There will be some minor timing changes to services between East Croydon and London Bridge via Tulse Hill.


Key changes to Gatwick Express
Monday to Friday
The 05:13 London Victoria to Brighton Gatwick Express service will be retimed and will now depart London Victoria at 05:05 and depart Gatwick Airport at 05:45.
Sunday
The half-hourly Gatwick Express service between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria will be retimed:

• Instead of departing at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour as at present, it will now depart at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour.
• As part of this change, the half-hourly Southern service between Brighton and London Victoria will now run at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour, instead of at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour.

Key changes to Thameslink
West Hampstead Thameslink, Kentish Town and Orpington – Monday to Friday
The 17:41 service from Kentish Town to Orpington will now start at West Hampstead Thameslink at 17:36.
The 18:06 service from West Hampstead Thameslink to Orpington will now start at Kentish Town at 18:09.

 

[Kite159]

The half-hourly Gatwick Express service between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria will be retimed:

• Instead of departing at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour as at present, it will now depart at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour.
• As part of this change, the half-hourly Southern service between Brighton and London Victoria will now run at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour, instead of at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour.

Is that to try and 'encourage' use of the overpriced Gatwick Express by having it depart in front of a regular Southern service to make the DfT more money with the Red Train Tax?

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Is that to try and 'encourage' use of the overpriced Gatwick Express by having it depart in front of a regular Southern service to make the DfT more money with the Red Train Tax?

Surely putting a fast train in front of a slower one makes more sense?
Even though really they would ideally make an overall 15 min frequency between the two.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Is that to try and 'encourage' use of the overpriced Gatwick Express by having it depart in front of a regular Southern service to make the DfT more money with the Red Train Tax?

Thanks for the update. As for a Red Train Tax, it would be nice if it was red. It seems green or white are all the rage on GX now.

 

[Bikeman78]

Is that to try and 'encourage' use of the overpriced Gatwick Express by having it depart in front of a regular Southern service to make the DfT more money with the Red Train Tax?

That makes no difference. I was on the 1713 Southern departure from Gatwick yesterday. Full and standing at the front, despite the red train departing three minutes earlier from platform 5.

 

[poffle]

My point exactly -you’d have to move the 19.48 departure by a lot more than 30 minutes to make the 20.00 ferry arrival relevant.

The ferries are running a "temporary" timetable until at least July because of the damage to the pier in Holyhead in December. All the ferries are using one ramp in Holyhead for 10 dockings a day.

The Stena ferries are running a couple of hours later and the Ulysses is an hour so earlier. The 09:00 "boat train" from Euston presently arrives in Holyhead 15 minutes before the Ulysses departs and 3 hours before the Stena Adventurer departs. ( The new timetable introduces an 08:00 train from EUS to HHD which would connect with the current Ulysses departure.). Ferry companies say the online sale of Holyhead SailRail tickets has been suspended in GB but they can be bought from ticket offices.

The 19:48 departure did connect with the normal afternoon Stena Estrid sailing from Dublin which arrived at 18:20.

In reality the main purpose of the early morning BHM-HHD and late evening HHD-BHM is to get trains to/from Oxley for overnight maintenance.

 

[Scotrail88]

Do we know what cross country services will be lengthen or run with double units come May?

 

[CEN60]

More trains for Fife as ScotRail enhance Leven services in May 2025 timetable

ScotRail is set to introduce significant timetable improvements from Sunday, 18 May 2025

www.scotrail.co.uk

Key highlights of the ScotRail timetable include:

More frequent Leven services: Customers in Leven will benefit from an enhanced service frequency, with two trains per-hours throughout the day. The second train per hour operates via Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath, providing better connections for communities across Fife.
Better connections to Dundee: The new timetable creates more journey opportunities for customers who wish to travel from Leven to Dundee. A change in train times means tight connections at Kirkcaldy are minimised, resulting in an improved journey experience.
Late-night service to Tain: The late-night service from Inverness to Tain, which operated prior to the pandemic is being reintroduced as a trial, offering greater flexibility for evening travellers. The change is possible through reducing the number of underused morning peak services from Elgin to Inverness.
Direct morning service from Inverness to Edinburgh Waverley: A new morning service will connect Inverness directly to Edinburgh, providing a convenient travel option for morning commuters, tourists, business, and leisure travellers. The new service replaces an Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street train.

Finally the 1st train in the morning from Kyle to Inverness has been retimed about 15mins or so earlier so it will connect with the Glasgow Service (which it misses by 3 minutes at the moment)

 

[David Turner]

The new Network Rail timetable from 18th May to the 13th December is now available for download from:

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/the-timetable/electronic-national-rail-timetable/

David Turner, Adelaide, South Australia

 

[Farigiraf]

While four services will continue to reverse at Coombe Junction Halt from May (instead of just before the station), it seems only one will actually open doors for passengers - the 08:24 M-F and 08:23 + 09:24 Saturday

It appears this must have been an error in the timetabling which has now been fixed.
From what I can see on Realtime Trains, after the May timetable change, as well as the 08:2x to Looe and 09:2x to Liskeard (timings to the minute vary by day), the 14:04 to Looe and 14:56 to Liskeard are timetabled to 'open doors' at Coombe Junction Halt.
Whilst the timings from a week ago may have simply been a mistake/bug, I wonder why the afternoon call has been moved to an hour earlier. Perhaps someone from the Coombe Junction Halt Station Users Group (does that still exist post-COVID?) asked GWR politely.

 

[Parallel]

I wonder why the afternoon call has been moved to an hour earlier. Perhaps someone from the Coombe Junction Halt Station Users Group (does that still exist post-COVID?) asked GWR politely.

The 15:45 from Looe only has a 5 minute turnaround time from the May timetable change without the call at Coombe Junction, so probably a decision made to improve punctuality.

The current 15:16 from Looe has 6 minute to turnaround with the call at Coombe Junction.

Not a problem in summer, but the station doesn’t have any lighting as far as I remember so better to have the call earlier when approaching the winter months.

 

[Eoch]

I think this might be a mistake from the working timetables, not the operator,
For the ones remaining, all have the form (08T RM25).
For the ones removed, all have the form (09RM27)
The "T" seems to indicate to the system that this is a stop, which was removed. Why? Maybe mistake.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I think this might be a mistake from the working timetables, not the operator,
For the ones remaining, all have the form (08T RM25).
For the ones removed, all have the form (09RM27)
The "T" seems to indicate to the system that this is a stop, which was removed. Why? Maybe mistake.

Coombe Junction Halt is a separate planning location to Coombe Jn No.1 Groundframe. The trains that call at the halt will RM (passenger stop, reverse move) there and also T (advertised passenger stop.) They should only OP (operational stop) at the groundframe.

For the majority that do not call at the halt, there should be OP, RM at the groundframe only and will not time at the Halt at all. This mirrors real practice as the halt is 100m or so further up the line towards Moorswater.

 

[1D54]

06:48 - Leicester to Birmingham has been scrapped in the new timetable which will cause problems for commuters heading from three Leics stations to New Street.

Apparently the 06:18 will now be a pair of 170s and if i heard correctly will come back as a pair and then split on arrival at Leicester but conformation is needed on that one as i can't work out what diagram the spare will be used on. Returning service has always headed out to Cambridge / Stansted so I'm rather confused.