New train timetable UK: How the May 2019 changes will affect c2c, TfL and other routes

New train timetables will come into force this month
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Georgia Chambers17 May 2019

New train timetables will come into force across the entire rail network this month.

The latest changes are an effort to improve services after last year’s May timetable changes caused travel chaos for thousands of passengers.

During the timetable amendments last year, Govia Thameslink Railway cancelled up to 470 trains whilst Northern cancelled 310 trains each day.

The Rail Delivery Group said it had “learned lessons” from last year’s “disruptive summer timetable change” and this year plans to only introduce new services “where there is high confidence that the necessary infrastructure, staffing plans and new trains will be ready.”

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, said: “The scale of our ambition to improve means that this is a significant challenge and while there may be some teething problems, train operators and Network Rail have worked together to carefully assess where new services can be introduced without impacting reliability.”

Here’s everything you need to new about the train timetable changes this May:

When will the new timetable come into force?

Commuters were hit with travel chaos when the timetable changes came into force last May
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The new timetable will come into effect from Sunday 19 May.

The National Rail timetable is changed in May and December each year.

What are the new changes?

It is hoped that the new timetable changes will reduce overcrowding on trains
Getty Images

Across the rail network, more than 1,000 extra services will be added to the railway lines in an effort to improve efficiency and ease overcrowding.

Will my route be affected?

c2c

Additional fast trains will run between Southend and central London, increasing that service from 4 trains to 5 trains per hour.

Timetables are available here.

Chiltern Railways

Two services will be combined to create a direct service between London and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Timetables are available here.

CrossCountry

More trains will run between Exeter and Bristol on the weekends and between Exeter and Birmingham.

Timetables are available here.

East Midlands trains

Some journey time improvements on a small number of peak services.

Timetables are available here.

Greater Anglia/Stansted Express

Improvements planned to services between London and Norwich/Ipswich.

Timetables are available here.

Great Western Railway

An extra morning service will run between Cheltenham and London, with an additional evening service between London and Cheltenham.

Extra weekday services will also run between Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.

Timetables are available here.

Gatwick Express

Gatwick Express services will additionally call at Preston Park from Monday to Friday at morning and evening peak times.

Timetables are available here.

London Northwestern Railway

More direct services will run from local stations to London, the West Midlands and the North West.

There will also be extra early, late and weekend services.

Timetables are available here.

Northern

Northern rail will be making the following changes to its services:

  • New hourly service will run between Chester and Leeds (via Manchester Victoria)
  • Hourly service between Hull and Scarborough
  • New hourly service between Sheffield and Gainsborough Central from Monday to Saturday
  • Faster Leeds to Lincoln services

Timetables are available here.

ScotRail

On Sundays, there will be additional services between Glasgow, For William and Mallaig.

Journeys will also be faster between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa.

Timetables are available here.

Southeastern

Routes between London, Maidstone, Canterbury and the Kent Coast could see journey reduction times of up to four minutes.

Early morning commuters from Gravesend will also benefit from two new services.

Timetables are available here.

South Western Railway

Two services between Reading and London Waterloo will be added during morning peak times.

There will also be one additional service between Ascot and Reading, Windsor & Eton and London Waterloo between Hounslow and London Waterloo during morning peak.

Two extra services between London and Fareham will be added, as well as between Reading and Ascot during evening peak times.

One additional service will run between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside during peak times.

Timetables are available here.

TfL Rail

Additional services will run out of London Liverpool Street and London Paddington stations.

Timetables are available here.

Thameslink

An additional train each hour will run direct between Brighton and Cambridge, with two direct trains running per hour each way.

36 carriages and 2,000 extra seats will be added from these towns into London during rush hour.

Timetables are available here.

Transport for Wales

New services will run between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester, linking Liverpool, Cheshire and North Wales.

Timetables are available here.

West Midlands Railway

There will be more early, late and weekend services.

Timetables are available here.

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