Following the recommendations of the Manchester Recovery Task Force, Northern and TransPennine Express have published proposals for changes to the existing timetable structure of rail services in the High Peak.
Earlier this year, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, and Transport for the North consulted on proposals to create more reliable train services through a more evenly spaced timetable to reduce passengers' risk of delays and cancellations.
Following a cross-party campaign, led by Robert Largan MP, the proposal to change the timetable structure in a way that would have made two trains per hour between Manchester and Buxton impossible, was defeated.
However, while the agreed upon timetable structure allows for two services per hour between Manchester and Buxton, the Manchester Recovery Taskforce stated that this service would have to be “justified by demand”. The pandemic has impacted people’s working and travelling patterns, with rail travel still below pre-Covid levels.
Northern have now published their proposed new timetable under this structure. In the proposals, the Manchester and Buxton line will be hourly during the off-peak periods, with two trains an hour running during the morning and evening peak periods. Services on the Glossop–Hadfield line and the Hope Valley Line remain mostly unchanged.
This new timetable will be introduced from December 2022.
The indicative timetables can be viewed at the following address: www.northernrailway.co.uk/manchester2022.
The consultation on these timetables finishes at 17:00 on 31 December 2021.
Local MP Robert Largan has called on local people to respond to the latest timetable consultation and to express their support for keeping two trains per hour on the Buxton line, throughout the whole day.
Robert Largan, MP for High Peak, commented:
"There is no doubt that the pandemic has had a big impact on passenger numbers and we’re clearly seeing some adjustments to rail services as a result.
“I proudly lead a cross-party campaign to protect the two trains per hour service on the Manchester-Buxton line and I am glad that we defeated the proposed timetable structure that would have made this impossible.
“But we now need to make sure that two trains per hour are retained for off-peak services as well as during peak times on the Buxton-Manchester line.
“I strongly encourage residents to respond to the consultation and have their say. I will keep making the case for faster, more reliable train services across the High Peak."
