Timetable options to improve rail performance in the north of England

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More than 800 passengers and stakeholders provided their views in response to the consultation by the Manchester Recovery Task Force (MRTF).

All contributions have helped produce a timetable structure that reflects the government and rail industry’s commitment to putting passengers at the heart of decision-making on the railway, while also noting affordability challenges, especially post-COVID-19.

Following analysis of the options, informed by the consultation feedback and further detailed work, the MRTF has recommended that Option B+, an enhanced variation of Option B that was presented in the consultation, will form the basis of a new timetable structure.

The MRTF’s recommendations will be deliverable in December 2022.

The next stage will be to implement the new timetable structure as soon as it can be ready. While detailed planning continues, there will be a second round of consultation on the detail of the timetable, which will be led by the train operators. We expect this consultation to be launched in autumn 2021.

The Department for Transport and Transport for the North will continue to work collaboratively to develop and oversee an agreed roadmap for future development, beyond 2022, of rail service and infrastructure enhancements.

Proposes options to improve train performance in the Manchester area and beyond by altering the north of England rail timetable.

This consultation ran from
9am on 14 January 2021 to 11:59pm on 10 March 2021