SMART

During the week 6 to 10 January 2025 there will be some significant changes from the published timetable, affecting Slaithwaite and Marsden.

There will be no train to Manchester Piccadilly at Slaithwaite 0804 & Marsden 0808. However, there will be one to Victoria at Slaithwaite 0743 & Marsden 0747. Some of the timings of other trains may change by a few minutes.

There also appear to be fewer trains, with nothing towards Huddersfield between about 0700 and 0800 from Marsden. There is no 1700 from Piccadilly this week, which is normally one of the busiest trains. TPE’s Managing Director has, on several occasions, publicly identified Manchester to Stalybridge at peak times as an overcrowding hotspot, so it’s astonishing that this should have been done seemingly without realising that (1) it makes an existing problem worse; (2) the passengers affected need to be forewarned.

There are also some fairly comprehensive daytime changes, with the daytime stopping service in both directions being on the opposite half hour from the published timetable.

These changes only appear in journey planners, so we recommend checking against a journey planner rather than getting a nasty surprise when the train you intended to catch ends up being retimed. 

We have been prepared to credit TPE when they have got things right. On this occasion they have got things badly wrong.

A reminder that the timetable changed from 15th December. The main changes affecting Slaithwaite and Marsden are that

– there will no longer be any through trains to Leeds at peak times;

– that the basic hourly service will run beyond Huddersfield to Wakefield, Normanton, Castleford and York; and

– the half hourly peak service which runs at peak times on weekdays will also run on Saturdays (although for the first 5 weekends in 2025 this will not be relevant as it will be bus replacement between Stalybridge and Huddersfield).

New timetables, and a tool for comparison between the old and new timetable, are at this link.

December 2024 Timetable Change | Travel Updates | TransPennine Express

As far as we can establish, this will be the first time since Slaithwaite station was reopened in 1982 that there will be not a single through train between Marsden/Slaithwaite & Leeds. Likewise there will be no through services from Leeds in the evening peak.

Whilst there will be cross-platform or same-platform interchange at Huddersfield, it’s less satisfactory than a through service changing from a train where Marsden/Slaithwaite passengers can get a seat on to another train where they might not get a seat. Some passengers might regard this as no inconvenience at all or a minor inconvenience. Others might take a less relaxed view of this change. SMART does not feel it is our place to tell passengers affected that it is of no consequence.

Through services to regional centres are obviously enough of a good thing for TPEs managing director to get a giant ticket made and go to Castleford and Eaglescliffe stations for photo-ops with the local MPs.

So why is it considered acceptable for Slaithwaite and Marsden to lose all their direct trains to the regional centre of Leeds. There was no consultation, no discussion, and TPE have not even bothered to tell the affected passengers.

If TPE were introducing a through service from Slaithwaite to Leeds, rather than quietly withdrawing one, you can be sure that their managing director would be on Slaithwaite station posing for a photo with a giant ticket.

There has been at least one direct train to Leeds for morning commuters since Slaithwaite station reopened in 1982. Now there are none.