May 2018 timetable changes

Since there has been an article in the Huddersfield Examiner recently, which focuses almost entirely on the removal of a direct service between Marsden & Slaithwaite, somewhat missing most of the points about the new timetable, it’s appropriate to list our concerns about the changes.

The removal of direct link between Marsden and Slaithwaite is on our list of concerns, but it’s not near the top of that list.

Firstly, not all aspects of the changes are bad. However, our view was and is that there is no objection to improving the capacity and quality of services linking Manchester and Leeds city centres provided that it was not achieved at the expense of services at our local stations. Unfortunately that appears to be precisely what is happening.

The timetable appears to have been designed on the basis that there is no cross-boundary commuting.

The proposed service, with TPEs skip-stopping service supplemented by a small number of extra trains provided at peak hours, fails to meet our aspirations and indeed fails even to provide a service comparable with the current functional but inadequate service.

Whilst we welcome

• through trains to Leeds
• a later last service from Manchester (Piccadilly and Victoria) and from Leeds (Fri & Sat only)
• later last trains on Sundays

The proposed timetable is significantly worse in several respects

• Halving of the peak hours service between Slaithwaite & Manchester
• Worse peak hour service, at uneven intervals
• Reduced peak frequency and hence capacity
• Loss of direct links between local stations
• Loss of direct trains to Ashton and Victoria
• Regular use of platform 2 at Marsden
• Trains are likely be full from the outset

What the original proposals showed was a reduction in the number of peak services to/from Manchester, and in the case of Marsden and Slaithwaite a halving of peak frequency from half-hourly to hourly. In the Manchester direction the 2018 timetable will be worse at peak times than in 1991.

Timings of peak trains from some of our stations will be particularly inconvenient such that they will involve an earlier start and a later finish. Most commuters on our line want to get to destinations in Manchester close to either Victoria or Salford Central, and face considerably extended overall journey times, in some cases with two changes where none are required at present. Journey times returning from Victoria to Marsden & Slaithwaite in the evening peak will be considerably extended, although admittedly much of the additional time will be spent in the agreeable surroundings of the Stalybridge buffet bar, and the frequency is reduced from half-hourly to hourly.

Almost all westbound trains at Marsden will in future use platform 2, accessible only by a steep and narrow flight of stairs, instead of platform 3 which has level access.

We have concerns about capacity. Our trains are typically full and standing at peak times, and heavily loaded off-peak. Three carriage class 185s do not offer much increase on 2 carriage class 150s, and indeed less capacity than 4 carriage class 150s which operate at peak times. Now the trains that are provided as a replacement also have to carry passengers from Manchester to Huddersfield and beyond.

None of this is the fault of the train operating companies, who have listened and within the parameters set for them attempted to mitigate the impact of these DfT-imposed changes.

Along with our colleagues from Greenfield Rail Action Group and Friends of Mossley Station, we have met with the train operating companies (several times), Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester), Transport for Greater Manchester, WYCA and Rail North. They now recognise the issues with the proposed new timetable.  How soon, and how effectively, those issues can be addressed remains to be seen.