Countdown to massive train timetable changes

The rail operator, which runs Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern services, says its proposals are a step forward in its programme to boost capacity across the network.

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel ahead the shake-up, with the time of every train changing from Sunday May 20.

Charles Horton, GTR’s chief executive, said: “We are introducing the biggest ever change to a rail timetables to significantly boost capacity on the UK’s most congested network. We don’t want passengers to get caught out and so we strongly advise them to look up the times of their trains as they will find that from 20 May each and every one of them has changed.

“Due to the sheer scale of the changes, we will have to redeploy a large number of trains and crews and services may not run at normal times during the introductory phase, although the impact on peak time services during the transition will be minimal.

“Introduction of the new timetables is a major milestone in the delivery of RailPlan 20/20, our programme to modernise rail services, taking advantage of the new infrastructure and trains provided by the Government’s £7bn Thameslink Programme.”

The new timetable will see around 3,600 trains running across the network, a 13 per cent increase.

Many passengers can expect their trains to start and terminate at different stations, for example many King’s Cross services will instead call at the adjacent St Pancras International.

The changes will increase space into London for an extra 50,000 passengers in the morning peak.

Due to the expansion, 80 more stations will have direct services to central London stations such as Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars by next year.

According to GTR rail passengers will benefit from enhanced frequency, reliability and connectivity across the network, with significant uplift at key commuter stations such as Brighton, Bedford, Luton and East Croydon.

Some disruption to services is expected during a major re-deployment of trains and crews over the coming weeks.

As part of the decade-long upgrade project, London Bridge has undergone a £1bn rebuild and, in Britain’s biggest fleet order, some 115 new self-drive Siemens trains are being introduced.

However the RMT union, which has been fighting the further extension of driver-only operation on Southern services, suggested the new GTR timetable ‘will place massive additional strains on infrastructure and staffing levels that are already struggling to cope with current capacity’.

General secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT has warned repeatedly about the pressure on the central core through the middle of London which is crucial to the delivery of these plans.”

According to GTR in Sussex the benefits of the new timetable are:

• New half-hourly cross-London service from Horsham via Redhill to London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon, City Thameslink, St Pancras International and beyond to Stevenage and Peterborough

• New half-hourly cross-London service from Gatwick Airport via Redhill to London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon, City Thameslink, St Pancras International and beyond to St Albans, Luton Airport Parkway, Luton and Bedford