TIMETABLE changes have been affecting weekday services around the country today.
Among the alterations is a doubling of frequency of Thameslink's all-night service on the Bedford route to half-hourly, and new services from Virgin Trains. Southern has increased off-peak headways between London Victoria and Brighton to 30min., but two Gatwick Express services are being extended each hour to Brighton to maintain 4tph on the route.
A new station has opened at Apperley Bridge near Leeds, replacing a previous station which closed in 1965.
Timetable changes are usual in December, and mark the launch of the annual timetable for the coming year. This round of changes is notable for including a new Virgin Trains service which links two provincial centres rather than terminating in London
From today passengers in Hull, Brough, and Selby can join VT trains to Doncaster, where there will be onward connections southward to London King’s Cross.
David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains on its east coast route, said: “Customers and communities have been calling for more services from Hull, Brough, and Selby. We’re delighted to be able to deliver this new service on our east coast route, and to connect people with our last train south to the capital.”
New Virgin services from Sunderland and Stirling to London have also been launched, and the new services from Sunderland and Hull will pose competition for open-access operators Grand Central and Hull Trains.
Business, civic and community leaders joined Virgin Trains on board both inaugural services this morning, with the new Sunderland service being met at London King’s Cross by rail minister Claire Perry, who named a power car ‘Spirit of Sunderland’.
The new station at Apperley Bridge, between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square, is part of much wider changes on the Northern Rail network. A ceremonial electric train ran this morning between Liverpool and Warrington to celebrate the addition of refurbished Class 319s to the fleet which will offer an extra 6.7 million seats annually. Other changes will bring the total capacity increase on the network to more than 10 million seats, Northern said.
The operator is also welcoming today's reinstatement of services through Farnworth Tunnel near Bolton, which had been partly closed so that the structure could be upgraded as part of the electrification scheme between Manchester and Preston. One single-track bore has been rebuilt to accommodate double track and overhead equipment.
Northern managing director Alex Hynes said: "These changes have been a long time in the planning and to see them finally come to fruition is very satisfying.
“We listen to our customers’ feedback and we know that some of our services have historically been very busy; to be able to bring such a large, permanent improvement in capacity is very good news."
A spokesman for First TransPennine Express said: “The opening of the new tunnel is fantastic news for our customers and staff. We understand how difficult it has been for everyone involved during these works and we’re very grateful for our customers’ patience during service alterations. These works have been essential and it’s great to see the tunnel open once again."
In the south of England a Kentish town has gained a new station which opened its doors this morning. The £26 million station at Rochester is on a new site closer to the town centre.
Southeastern managing director David Statham said: “It is great news that the new station has opened in Rochester. I believe this highlights and shows our commitment to the area, a major part of our commuting network.
“The new station is much brighter and is now much closer to the historic heart of Rochester, which is good for commuters, local businesses on and around the High Street and the hundreds of thousands of people that visit each year.”
Meanwhile, passengers on a cross-country East Midlands Trains route will have no need to go hungry from today, because an at-seat catering trolley service has been introduced on 24 trains every weekday. It is the first time a catering service has been offered on this part of the busy Liverpool to Norwich route by EMT.