New Virgin Trains’ timetable brings massive boost to Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire

08 December 2008

More trains and faster journey times are the key ingredients of the new Virgin Trains’ timetable from 14 December, details of which were announced today.

Train services will increase by 30 percent with Manchester linked to the Capital by a Pendolino train every 20 minutes including weekends. Average journey times from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston come down from 2h 22 to 2h 08 and the extra trains will mean an additional 1.5 million seats each year on the route helping to reduce overcrowding.

Stockport also benefits from the step up with 20 minute frequencies to and from London and many journey times down to just two hours.

Wilmslow gains a regular hourly service to and from London Euston, with one of the Manchester-London services each hour serving the Cheshire town. With most trains calling at Crewe only, with a journey time of just 1h 53.

Tony Collins, Virgin Rail Group’s CEO said today: “The new West Coast timetable represents a huge opportunity for the industry following the £9bn upgrade by Network Rail. More seats and dramatically reduced journey times are huge wins for passengers but quite rightly we will all be judged on how well this railway will perform. The successful running of Europe’s busiest main line railway is going to be a huge challenge for the train operators and Network Rail and, during the first few months as the timetable beds in, passengers’ expectations may not always be fulfilled. I believe however that within six months we shall have a railway of which the nation can truly be proud.”

Commenting on the new Virgin Trains’ timetable, Richard Critchley, Policy Manager for Transport at the Greater Manchester Chamber, said: “The new Virgin Trains timetable will provide a huge boost to Manchester - London rail services. The faster journey times and increased service frequency will be welcomed by all business travellers using the busy West Coast Main Line route. This greatly improved service will open up the North West, making the Capital more accessible and helping to bring added investment and jobs to the region”.

Macclesfield will retain one train an hour to and from London Euston, with journey times reduced by around 13 minutes to 1h 47.

Stoke-on-Trent will retain two trains an hour to London, with alternate trains also calling at Milton Keynes Central. Weekday daytime departures for London Euston will be at xx:11 and xx:50 with return services from London at xx:00 and xx:20.

Trains between Birmingham and Scotland via Preston will continue to run every hour and will call at Crewe with alternate services running to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Journey times on many journeys have come down to under four hours, an improvement of around 15 minutes. Crewe will also be served by the Manchester-London via Wilmslow service and also by the North Wales/Chester-London service, which when fully operational from 26 January will provide two trains an hour between Crewe and London. Journey times will fall to around one-and-a-half hours, knocking up to 20 minutes off the current journey time.

Crewe will be linked to Runcorn and Liverpool by two trains an hour, which will be provided by London Midland.

The Stafford to London hourly train service sees a dramatic improvement in journey time, with most of the trains completing the run to Euston non-stop in 1h 21, an acceleration of 16 minutes.

All other Virgin Trains’ routes see significant benefits with the new timetable. Birmingham to London services move to a 20 minute frequency. Chester, a growth destination for both business and leisure travel, moves to hourly London schedules from 26 January, while Liverpool is linked to and from the capital with a half hourly service during the peak periods. Finally, as Virgin starts to take on the Anglo-Scottish airlines, there will be thirteen trains a day between London and Glasgow with typical journey times of 4h 30.

The 20 minute frequency service on the London-Manchester and London-Birmingham routes make them “the most frequent ‘long distance train services in Europe” according to Brendan Fox, Editor of the Thomas Cook timetable, and is unique on a railway where fast and local trains share the same tracks with freight trains. With such a frequent service, which is unmatched on many commuter routes, customers can rip up the timetable.

Summary of principal changes

Manchester-London
A 20 minute frequency throughout the main part of the day between Manchester and London Euston, with all trains calling at Stockport.
A fast 07:00 Manchester to London Euston service calling at Stockport only and taking just 1h 58 to reach London.
Off peak trains at xx:15 from Manchester to London also serve Milton Keynes Central.
New off peak Wilmslow-London service at xx:11, with return from London Euston at xx:40.

Crewe to Glasgow / Edinburgh* Trains will operate hourly from Crewe to Carlisle (departing generally at xx:09), continuing forward to either Edinburgh or Glasgow. All services will call at Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, then generally at either Oxenholme Lake District or Penrith North Lakes, and Carlisle
* Southbound services from Edinburgh depart at two hourly intervals at xx:52, and from Glasgow Central at approximately two hourly intervals, generally at xx:00.

Cheapest fares reduced

To celebrate the start of the new timetable, prices of the cheapest Advance tickets have been slashed from 14 December. Single fares from Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Wilmslow, Macclesfield and Crewe are reduced from £13.00 to £8.00. The single fare from Crewe to Birmingham New Street is reduced from £8.50 to £4.00.

These prices are not being increased in January.

More information

Route guides can be viewed or downloaded at virgintrains.com and free printed copies of the guides are available at any station served by Virgin Trains.

Individual journey details for travel from 14 December can be checked by visiting nationalrail.co.uk or by calling 08457 48 49 50.