New rail timetable from May 20th 2018 - NOW Dec/May 2019

[turdo170]

Northern's off peak starts at 9 actually, so you are OK with the new times.

Off Peak varies depending on the restriction code for the individual journey.

Some Off Peak Returns are valid any time.

Poynton - Manchester Off Peak Day Return is B3 0900 as stated. Return any time.

[turdo170]

Early indications are that we will get a 1002 to Manchester and 2043 to Stoke on Sundays in December in addition to the existing services.

TfN have said the Stoke/ Macclesfield - Blackpool will instead operate from Hazel Grove, so we may not get our 2nd train per hour off peak (at all) but Heaton Chapel and Levenshume will get a 4th train per hour instead.

[AndrewJ]

Early indications are that we will get a 1002 to Manchester and 2043 to Stoke on Sundays in December in addition to the existing services.

TfN have said the Stoke/ Macclesfield - Blackpool will instead operate from Hazel Grove, so we may not get our 2nd train per hour off peak (at all) but Heaton Chapel and Levenshume will get a 4th train per hour instead.

I guess we don't need any more trains now we have a shiny new road eh?

It is a victory for campaigners on the Hazel Grove line if the through train to Blackpool has been switched back to there - they were complaining like anything about losing it. I'd hope we would still get an extra train per hour - I think it was in the franchise agreement and the brand new trains we are (hopefully) going to get next year are not significantly greater in capacity, unless they are being doubled from the start.

Peak time trains coming back from Manchester are getting beyond a joke recently with the crush - I saw people miss their stop at Cheadle Hulme last week because they couldn't actually get out the train. Doesn't help with people from Macc, Stockport or Stoke using these trains when they could have used Virgin or CrossCountry instead. By next year it will be unbearable.

[AndrewJ]

Feeling sad, and having a free lunchtime, I found the minutes of the 'Transport for the North' meeting where they discussed the new rail timetables.

Page 2 suggests that Poynton won't get the second train per hour, even though they admit it is a TSR (Train Service Requirement).

The 'service development' shortlist that Northern are being asked to 'consider' for next year are in the Macc-Stoke section rather than Macc-Manchester. These include later trains on Friday and Saturday, more stops at Longport, and extending the service south to Blythe Bridge, rather than terminating at Stoke.

https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/Item-5-Train-Service-Planning.pdf

[turdo170]

Feeling sad, and having a free lunchtime, I found the minutes of the 'Transport for the North' meeting where they discussed the new rail timetables.

Page 2 suggests that Poynton won't get the second train per hour, even though they admit it is a TSR (Train Service Requirement).

The 'service development' shortlist that Northern are being asked to 'consider' for next year are in the Macc-Stoke section rather than Macc-Manchester. These include later trains on Friday and Saturday, more stops at Longport, and extending the service south to Blythe Bridge, rather than terminating at Stoke.

https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/Item-5-Train-Service-Planning.pdf

I'd be very surprised if the Blythe Bridge service will happen unless they get more powerful bi-mode trains - 319s or 769s as the bi-mode version are known can't maintain the current Stoke timings in Electric only mode and given the extra weight of the diesel engine and running right in front of CrossCountry is a performance risk.

I think it would only happen if as is mentioned the 2tph Manchester - Macclesfield (which Rail North look to be trying still to get) is ever implemented and extended to Stoke BUT not with the current timetables, as the only slot for the extra Northern Macclesfield / Stoke service is right in front of CrossCountry and Virgin. If it ran after the xx56 Macclesfield to Euston then it's less than 20 minutes before the current Stoke stopper. Not that this stopped them having 2tph to Buxton arriving with 15 minutes of each other!

They desperately need 2 extra tracks from Levenshume - Manchester, cutting out the embankment at Edgeley to have a dedicated Hazel Grove line from Platform 0 as was originally intended and 4 tracks all the way to Cheadle Hulme.