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Tuesday 17 Apr 2018

Customers urged to check before they travel ahead of major timetable change

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Train customers are being urged to check their train times, station stops and walking routes ahead of Britain’s biggest train timetable change for decades.

Train operators TransPennine Express and Northern, together with Network Rail and Great North Rail Project partners, are urging customers to check before travelling and to plan their journeys - before a major timetable change arriving on 20 May.

As part of the new timetable, departure times and the Manchester stations where some services travel to and from across the Pennines, will change. Passengers are being asked to take note of the changes to the services and think about their onward journey whether on foot, by tram or on the bus.

Rob McIntosh, Route Managing Director at Network Rail, said: “The rail industry is working collaboratively to deliver the Great North Rail project- a transformation which will ensure we continue to meet the needs of the communities and economies which our railway serves.

“The Great North Rail project has already begun to improve journeys, with more benefits to come by 2020. We know that working on the railway can be disruptive and we are working hard to keep this to a minimum.

“Important infrastructure upgrades are taking place on both sides of the Pennines, including platform extensions and signalling upgrades and, once complete, train companies will be able to run new and improved trains, improving the experience for customers.”

Jacqueline Starr, Managing Director of Customer Experience for the Rail Delivery Group, which brings together train companies and Network Rail to enable a better railway, said:

“Working together in partnership, train operators and Network Rail are delivering record investment in rail which means there will be new trains, better services and improved stations that will support economic growth and boost communities across the north of England, now and for the long term.

“Whether you are a commuter or travel for leisure, we’re asking customers to check before you travel as there will be new and changed services from 20 May. Customers can check their journey now by visiting nationalrail.co.uk or speaking to their train operator.”

 Major upgrade work will continue in 2018 as the rail industry continues to deliver the Great North Rail Project - an industry-wide team effort to transform rail travel for customers across the North by 2020 through better trains, services, stations and tracks.  Network Rail is doing as much as possible to minimise disruption, including working overnight and during the summer when fewer people travel.

This includes temporary changes to train services between 2 June and 29 July while Liverpool Lime St is upgraded to enable faster, more frequent and more reliable train services in and out of Merseyside’s key transport hub.

By 2020, Northern and TransPennine Express will have delivered thousands more services a week using brand new and refurbished trains right across their networks and all the Pacer trains will be gone.

The Ordsall Chord, which has linked Manchester’s three main stations for the first time, will be supporting many more direct services to Manchester Airport from across the north. This means that for some customers across the Pennines, Manchester Victoria will be the first or last stop instead of Manchester Piccadilly.

Liverpool Lime Street and other key stations, as well as tracks across Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire will also be transformed, enabling faster and more frequent services right across the North of England. In addition, as part of the Great North Rail Project, work is under way to support the Transpennine Route Upgrade between Manchester and York.

The new and changed train services in the timetable follow record investment in the railway, including new lines between Manchester and Liverpool, cutting journey times by 15 minutes, and the completion of the Ordsall Chord, which links Manchester’s three main stations for the first time and will see more services to Manchester Airport.

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