Northern printed timetables

[lyndhurst25]

I haven’t seen any Northern printed timetable leaflets for a long time and assumed that they had been discontinued (other than the excellent Coast, Lakes, Dales and Fells booklet). Some enterprising stations did however provide black and white A4 printouts of the PDFs as a substitute.

Anyway, today in the post, enclosed with my Dales Railcard, I received a May to December 2025 timetable leaflet for Line 7- Leeds to Carlisle/Morecambe. Could this be a sign that printed timetable leaflets are making a comeback in Northern-land? Hoping so.

 

[6Gman]

Yes, one can only hope so. And that others will follow.

 

[route101]

I found the Northern Coast, Lakes and Dales booklet hard to find last year. Perhaps they still print a few routes but aren't on public display.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I found the Northern Coast, Lakes and Dales booklet hard to find last year. Perhaps they still print a few routes but aren't on public display.

The current version of the "Coast, Lakes, Dales & Fells" booklet (valid until 17 May 2025) includes the following routes...

• Carlisle->Barrow->Lancaster->Manchester.

• Carlisle/Windermere->Preston->Manchester (also shows Glasgow/Edinburgh and Birmingham/London connections)

• Carlisle->Gretna Green->Dumfries->Glasgow

• Leeds->Skipton->Hellifield->Settle->Appleby->Carlisle

• Leeds->Skipton->Hellifield->Bentham->Lancaster->Bare Lane->Morecambe->Heysham Port

• Carlisle->Haltwhistle->Hexham->Newcastle

as well other info, including a number of bus route timetables, mainly for in the Central Lakes area.

A useful resource for trip planning but always necessary to check for revisions/cancellations.

 

[WAB]

Alex Hornby is now the Commercial director at Northern- perhaps this is his doing?

 

[Albaman]

I found the Northern Coast, Lakes and Dales booklet hard to find last year. Perhaps they still print a few routes but aren't on public display.

I obtained copies of the May - December 2024 booklet at the Tourist Information Office in Carlisle. I didn't see any on display at Carlisle station but I did see them at Preston.

Regarding the current edition of the booklet, I saw copies in the Booking Office at Whitehaven and when I asked for one, the lady almost insisted I take two copies .

 

[pokemonsuper9]

You can still get all of the documents on Northern's website, (although they're obviously designed for reading so don't work as well), although I can't find the new ones like sent to #1, I'm suprised there was the foresight to send the next period's rather than one only valid for half a month.

 

[Andyh82]

I’d like to see an other example than the settle/carlisle, as I’m sure I’ve seen a timetable for this route this side of Covid before.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I’d like to see an other example than the settle/carlisle, as I’m sure I’ve seen a timetable for this route this side of Covid before.

Fairly sure that photocopier printed timetables for the Manchester Piccadilly to Chester line (via Stockport) have been available from the booking office at Altrincham station in recent years.

 

[lyndhurst25]

https://coastandlakestraintimetable.co.uk/pick-up-a-copy lists all the stations that are supposed to carry the C,L,D&F booklet. At the last timetable changeover in December 2024, it took nearly a month until Skipton station got a delivery of the up-to-date booklets, which is why I was surprised that a May 2025 leaflet has already been printed.

I can’t recall seeing any official Northern colour printed line timetable leaflets this year or last. Although Keighley and Ulverston did have photocopies for the Airedale and Cumbrian Coast timetables respectively.

Guess we willl have to wait until the middle of next month to see what appears in station racks.

 

[Andyh82]

Alex Hornby is now the Commercial director at Northern- perhaps this is his doing?

Depends how much say he has, or whether it’s a national directive to not do any paper

The leaflet racks up and down the country look so sad when they are usually filled with just rows of railcard application forms and delay repay forms.

 

[Mike Machin]

Perhaps people in the north don't have mobile phones?

 

[Minnietheminx]

Perhaps people in the north don't have mobile phones?

Or perhaps we just have patchy signal coverage

 

[Gordonman]

The Leeds - Carlisle/Morecambe timetables have always been published for each timetable simply because they are funded/subsidised by the Friends of Settle - Carlisle group.Presumably a similar situation exists for the Lakes timetable booklet.
I would be extremely surprised if Northern printed any others.
The only TOC to reintroduce printed timetables was Cross Country as far as I am aware

 

[route101]

The Leeds - Carlisle/Morecambe timetables have always been published for each timetable simply because they are funded/subsidised by the Friends of Settle - Carlisle group.Presumably a similar situation exists for the Lakes timetable booklet.
I would be extremely surprised if Northern printed any others.
The only TOC to reintroduce printed timetables was Cross Country as far as I am aware

Does Cross Country still print them?

GWR restarted printing but stopped again.

 

[janb]

The Leeds - Carlisle/Morecambe timetables have always been published for each timetable simply because they are funded/subsidised by the Friends of Settle - Carlisle group.Presumably a similar situation exists for the Lakes timetable booklet.

My understanding is that the Coasts, Lakes, Dales, and Fells booklet was produced out of a regional pot of money (I recall Chris Jackson when he was regional director signing off on it) rather than a central marketing/publicity budget. The back cover also says in partnership with Community Rail Cumbria, Lakes Line Rail User Group, Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership, and Stagecoach Cumbria & Lancashire so there may well be some community rail money put towards it as well. Inspired by the patchy mobile signal in Cumbria, and it would seem the Stagecoach Lakes booklet had a clear influence as well.

 

[43055]

Does Cross Country still print them?

They did but I have not see any recently.

 

[Sapphire Blue]

The biggest miss for me is the combined West Yorkhire book that Metro produced, with the fold out map.

 

[YorksLad12]

From memory, it was never popular internally with some people (it was a fight to get it back after Leeds 1st in 2001). The single route timetables also went in 2016; they were better that Northern’s in some cases because they covered multiple routes in one place.

I did think about a spare-time project to bring them back, at least as pdfs, but I’d need the data in a sensible format first.

 

[lyndhurst25]

The West Yorkshire booklet was brilliant and it was a great shame when they stopped printing it. It certainly encouraged me to make more use of the trains back then. I’d be very happy if Metro brought it back.

 

[Rhinojerry]

Picked up a copy of the attached from the ticket office at Harrogate at lunchtime today.
Very useful,plenty of them inside the office.

 

[ainsworth74]

Picked up a copy of the attached from the ticket office at Harrogate at lunchtime today.
Very useful,plenty of them inside the office.

That looks like someone in the ticket office proactively using the office printer!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

At Grange-over-Sands station earlier this week, there were photocopies of Northern timetable No. 6 in the display rack in the ticket office area. The print size was rather small though!

 

[Chriso]

Unfortunately with the penny pinching idiots in charge taking over we will never see full printed timetables returning.

 

[kevjs]

Depends how much say he has, or whether it’s a national directive to not do any paper

The leaflet racks up and down the country look so sad when they are usually filled with just rows of railcard application forms and delay repay forms.

At Nottingham they are full to the brim with booklets of the local bus timetables!

 

[route101]

At Nottingham they are full to the brim with booklets of the local bus timetables!

Yes, in some areas printed bus timetables have come back.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Today, nothing out in the racks at Keighley. Skipton however, had colour inkjet/laser printed copies of both the Airedale (40) and Settle Carlisle (7) line timetables in the racks. Maybe Northern should just admit defeat drop the paperless dogma. There clearly is a demand for leaflets if stations are going to the trouble to keep on producing their own.

No sign of the latest Coast, Lakes, Dales and Fells booklet at Skipton station yet.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

No sign of the latest Coast, Lakes, Dales and Fells booklet at Skipton station yet.

Is this available as a pdf yet? (Prefer a hard copy version, though).

 

[lyndhurst25]

Is this available as a pdf yet? (Prefer a hard copy version, though).

Sure is.

Coast,Lakes Dales & Fells Train Timetable

Welcome to Coast, Lakes Dales & Fells train timetable site

coastandlakestraintimetable.co.uk

 

[Horizon22]

Unfortunately with the penny pinching idiots in charge taking over we will never see full printed timetables returning.

I think people will have to accept that the vast majority of people do not utilise them, as much as enthusiasts and people on this forum would like them.

I am ready to be shot down here for such an inflammatory (yet realistic) comment!