Rail passengers using the West Coast Mainline reminded to check their train times ahead of changes being introduced this weekend

Rail passengers are being reminded to check their train times, as major changes are introduced across the rail network this weekend.

London Northwestern Railway is implementing a new timetable from Sunday (19 May), bringing improvements for passengers using the West Coast Mainline.

Enhancements will include more peak time services, increased capacity, and earlier and later departures from London Euston throughout the week. The changes will benefit passengers travelling for both work and leisure – including those using rail services during evenings and weekends.

Announcements to remind passengers about the changes can now be heard at railway stations, with timetables available from ticket offices or to download from the London Northwestern Railway website.

Events have also been held at stations and on trains across the network to give passengers a chance to speak to senior managers about the upcoming changes. Similar events are also scheduled for the coming weeks, to help gather feedback on the new timetable.

Some of the improvements being introduced for passengers travelling on the West Coast Mainline and associated branch lines include:

• More seats to and from the capital throughout the day with more 12 car trains operating on various routes serving the West Coast Mainline.
• Additional services between Watford Junction and London Euston during the morning and evening peaks, with 0856, 0913 and 0937 departures from Watford and additional 1715 and 1815 departures from Euston.
• Fast services between London Euston and Milton Keynes (coming from Crewe) will have more services made up of eight carriage trains rather than four carriages. This is due to alterations being made further north on the network to allow these to operate. There will also be earlier morning and later evening services on weekdays and Saturdays. From Monday – Saturday, there will be an additional early 0628 departure from London Euston to Crewe, as well as a later 2149 departure.
• Quicker direct journeys from London Euston to a range of long-distance destinations, including Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Airport (three trains per hour daily), Wolverhampton and Liverpool Lime Street. This will bring about more options for affordable leisure travel across the rail network and will include reduced waiting times at Northampton.
• An enhanced timetable on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley, so that customers will have an hourly service throughout the day, from Monday – Saturday. A Sunday service is planned to operate on the line from 2021.

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “The timetable improvements being introduced this weekend will bring a range of benefits to passengers, with more direct services to destinations across our network and improved capacity on some of our busiest services.

“To accommodate these enhancements, there will be alterations to train times, carriage formations and the platforming of some services at busier stations. Therefore, we are advising all passengers to plan ahead for next week and to check the details of their journey. This is particularly important for those who travel regularly and are used to relying on a particular service everyday.

“We also want to make sure people are aware of how they can benefit from new opportunities to travel by train for both work and leisure. With additional earlier, later and weekend services operating direct to more destinations, the new timetable is good news for passengers across the region.”

Passengers can plan ahead using journey planning systems and are advised to go to londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk for more information.

The train operator will also be introducing a further major timetable change in two years time, where passengers will see additional benefits from the introduction of new trains onto the network, which when fully operational, will increase capacity by 25%.

ENDS