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.
