The new train timetable will start this coming Sunday, 20th May. Basically, everything changes. Timings, rolling stock, where the trains go to, everything.
The new timetables can be found on the websites of Northern Rail and TPE. One thing to be aware of is that almost all Manchester-bound trains will use platform 2 at Marsden, not platform 3.
But that’s not what this posting is about.
SMART has been discussing the proposed timetable with the train companies, TfGM and WYCA for several months, and whilst we managed to get some minor improvements from what was originally proposed, there are still many aspects of the changes which are profoundly unsatisfactory.
We are continuing to talk to the train companies, and as soon as next Wednesday we have a meeting where the December 2018 timetable will be on the agenda. People in senior positions within the railway industry are prepared to take time to talk with us, which is a fairly good indication that they recognise that we are raising issues which need fixing.
So what we want is information. Lots of it.
We want to know how your travel plans are changed by the new timetable. So if it involves and earlier start and a later finish, or switching to a different mode of transport, or changing your working hours or workplace, we want to know. If it involves incurring additional expense (e.g. childcare costs), we want to know. If overcrowding becomes more of an issue, we want to know.
We don’t just want to know about the bad stuff. If the changes make your travel arrangements easier or allow you to save money or allow you to make use of travel opportunities which previously didn’t exist, we want to know that, too.
Whilst we are able to make some predictions as to which bits will make travel easier and which bits will make travel more difficult, there’s no substitute for evidence. We want to identify the good bits of the new timetable and keep those, whilst also identifying what is unsatisfactory and needs fixing.
So please, over the next few months, keep telling us how the new timetable works (or doesn’t) for you. This can either be done on the SMART facebook group, or if you don’t want your comments to be on a public forum, by facebook message or (once we can get our e-mail fixed), to info[at]smart-rail.co.uk.
NOTE: if commenting, please do so in response to this posting, not any others. We have a very effective, perhaps over-zealous, spam trap, which filters out most of the adverts for performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals and designer clothing, but which also can catch some legitimate comments. If it’s all on this one post, it’s easier to go through the spam and pick up which comments are legitimate.
I personally think the new time table will cut Marsden off. I hate getting the bus as it’s so much more expensive, but will be forced to use it for Doctors and shopping in Slaithwaite or Huddersfield.
There was nothing wrong with the original time table!
I finally negotiated an earlier finishing time at work because of the long days – I work in Manchester and currently have to leave the house at seven and get back at half six when starting at half eight and finishing at five. With the changes, and because I work in Spinningfields, I’ll now have to leave the house at 6:45 to get to Slawit and, despite finishing at half four from next week, still won’t be home until half six. If I could run like Usain Bolt to get from Spinningfields to Piccadilly in 17 minutes, it would be fine but I can’t so my day will be even longer. I will be moving soon and, although I will still be nearer Slawit, will be driving into Huddersfield to use the trains to try and save a precious half hour. All of this is going to cost me more too – in the evening now I’ll have to go via Hudds which means paying £4 more per day. When I drive to Hudds, it’ll be an extra car on the road as well as costing me an additional £8 a day when I factor in parking (a bus would cost the same). These timetables are awful and the crap about how it will be quicker trains is crap due to the terrible timings of them.
I could go on and on about this, not only on a personal level but thinking about how it will affect the villages economically. Plus, having done the Hudds Leeds commute on trans Pennine for a while, my confidence in them is low, I’m fully expecting to be stressed and delayed all the time.
For me it’s good because it gives a quicker more direct link to rail hubs at Leeds and Manchester for onward travel to London or beyond. I am unhapy however at the apparent lack of thought for disabled people with the use of platform 2. I also think the gap between train and platform 2 at Marsden is dangerously large and accidents may well occur. I would have liked to see a more dynamic train service perhaps with trains from Bradford running to Marsden to give and additional service between SWT and MSN.
I guess time will tell us how the timetable serves us. Ultimately if the service is reliable then I think the timings inconvenience will be offset. If there are cancellations to the same degree we get with northern then I do see a knock on effect with people choosing not to live in Marsden or Slawit, people choosing to drive (more cars on the road), people using the bus (overcrowding) and also people choosing not to visit the villages.
Extending the Bradford to Huddersfield trains up to Marsden and back was one of the suggestions we made. Seems it was not practicable.
I commute daily from Marsden to Leeds. I’m fortunate that my employer offers flexi-time, and the times of the trains I usually use haven’t changed that much.
In recent months I have reached the end of my tether with the service Northern operate to and from Huddersfield. The 17:45 from Huddersfield has been frequently delayed or cancelled with very short notice, meaning that I often have to get a taxi to get home for my son’s bedtime. The ongoing industrial action is also very disruptive, there was one week where 3 out of 5 working days were impacted by strikes. On top of that the trains are still uncomfortable and dirty, and during peak ale-trail season they’re unusable for most of the day on Saturdays.
As I already use TPE services I know they’re certainly not perfect, and come with their own set of problems. However, since I am already in a situation where I am already on the verge of having to arrange alternative transport, at least as far as Huddersfield, I am willing to give the new system a chance.
I do appreciate that others have different circumstances and will be impacted by the timetable changes and the further reduced accessibility