SMART 21st July meeting summary: thank you to everyone who attended. SMART will continue to push for a better train service for Slaithwaite and Marsden stations; for accessible stations which are reliably served by two trains an hour in each direction (with at least one to Leeds). There is going to be a lot of disruption over the coming weeks and so people are encouraged to use the SMART Facebook group etc. to organise potential lift sharing as an alternative. Most people from our stations travel to Leeds, Manchester or Huddersfield so hopefully there might be someone else going at the same times. We expect that there will be another SMART meeting in late 2025 to coincide with the planned consultation on the upgrade.
Station performance: Slaithwaite and Marsden stations continue to have issues based on punctuality and cancellations placing them at 2,429th and 2,349th respectively out of 2,639 stations across the country [Source: www.ontimetrains.co.uk]. This puts them in the bottom 15% of stations (an improvement on last month). As discussed at the SMART meeting, this is mostly due to delays rather than cancellations [Ontimetrains’ methodology gives a delay of 11′ the same score as a cancellation.]
Reminders:
- Upcoming closures: our part of the route is currently closed on weekends through the summer (except 16/17 August). It is also planned that Huddersfield station, plus the route between Stalybridge and Deighton, will be completely closed from 30th August for four weeks. Further detail and rail replacement details may be found on the SMART or TPE websites.
- Through trains to and from Leeds: When Huddersfield station reopens on 29th September, there will be only two through platforms so through trains from Marsden & Slaithwaite to and from Leeds at peak times will resume (to get the stopping trains out of the way). This will continue until the next month-long closure (which will increase the number of through platforms at Huddersfield to four), currently expected to be in Autumn 2026. At this point, the direct Leeds service from Slaithwaite and Marsden will cease again. In line with the survey feedback and July meeting, we continue to press for the reinstatement of through trains to and from Leeds on a permanent basis.