December 2026 Timetable Change

[Bikeman78]

At Victoria, yes, but at Gatwick, not quite so much, and a worse position than now in that it will no longer be possible to alternate 4 / 5 for up trains, and 6 / 7 for down trains, which has been good for throughput.

But not for passengers when last minute platform alterations happen. I've seen what happens when lots of luggage laden passengers try to run up and down escalators. It's not fun. I tend to loiter on the bridge until the platform is confirmed on open train times.

 

[rmHawk765]

I meant more for inbound/counter and off peak - which was the topic. Hertford I called out as it has some jobs there. I appreciate those are busy commuter stations towards London.

As I said there is more off-peak demand than you think at the stations before Hertford. But yes, I do agree that there are more 'regular' off-peak flows on the Welwyn side of things, e.g for Hatfield and the uni as you mentioned.

 

[nineteenninety]

Another alteration consistently rumoured is LNWR extending the current Crewe - Stoke - Stafford service northwards to Manchester Airport (replacing Northern Crewe - Manchester Airport - Manchester Piccadilly),

Destination Manchester

Read our exciting proposal for our trains to begin serving Manchester for the first time.

www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

LNWR made an announcement a while back confirming this, there have been runs from Crewe to the Airport recently, utilising a 350

 

[bramling]

As I said there is more off-peak demand than you think at the stations before Hertford. But yes, I do agree that there are more 'regular' off-peak flows on the Welwyn side of things, e.g for Hatfield and the uni as you mentioned.

The off-peak service on the Welwyn side is adequate most of the time. It isn’t a wonderful service by any means, but it isn’t like there’s people standing, or even coming close to that point, unless perhaps there’s an event on somewhere. I wouldn’t put this down to suppressed demand, as the trains have always been empty even when the Moorgate service had 3tph and 4tph. That said, I agree that Welwyn Sevenoaks should go all-day; and if it does then I can see no justification for retaining the Alexandra Palace calls on the Cambridge service.

 

[rmHawk765]

and if it does then I can see no justification for retaining the Alexandra Palace calls on the Cambridge service.

Indeed, these calls were just a lazy attempt at at least remotely restoring the service at Ally Pally as it was 10-14tph if I remember correctly in 2019, whereas now it's only 6-8tph. Admittedly simply making Sevenoaks all day doesn't magically raise it back up but it's a step in the right direction. It is worth noting that Sevenoaks trains do not presently call at Ally Pally, I'm not too sure why to be honest.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jun 2026 ==

And as we speak, the ECML is having its usual meltdown, with most Thameslinks cancelled, IC trains delayed considerably, and Moorgate trains cancelled... Rather ironic! Of course the issue is on the BML, but GreaterTR just like GoviaTR cannot be asked to at least run Finsbury-Cambridge and Finsbury-Peterborough. Surely there are spare drivers and 700/1s at Hornsey?

 

[Llandudno]

Isn’t there meant to be the new Bristol service?
I doubt that TfW could deliver anymore service upgrades considering how stretched the 197 fleet is, and will probably be worse after when they take over the Cambrian.. I wonder what they will do with the 158s after the change over, hopefully from a selfish point of view we keep them for a bit longer, but I presume Northern need them more

Could do with some Sunday service improvements west of Chester on Sundays, still mainly one train per hour…

 

[GilfachFargoed]

Other than the somewhat superior stock, the “premium” elements (IMHO) were that, at least in theory, there was always a train ready to board immediately at both Gatwick and Victoria and you didn’t get the “churn” generated at East Croydon and /or Clapham Junction - which also meant you didn’t have to worry about someone walking off with your luggage.

Agreed, the main attraction for me has always been the non-stop run to Gatwick, avoiding the crowds getting on/off at East Croydon. I suspect some members of this forum are more price sensitive than the wider market, many of whom clearly value the opportunity to pay a premium for whatever benefits GX offers to them personally.

 

[Jez]

Could do with some Sunday service improvements west of Chester on Sundays, still mainly one train per hour…

TFW could also do with a Swanline service on a Sunday - currently Llansamlet, Skewen, Briton Ferry and Baglan have no service at all on Sundays.

 

[The exile]

Agreed, the main attraction for me has always been the non-stop run to Gatwick, avoiding the crowds getting on/off at East Croydon. I suspect some members of this forum are more price sensitive than the wider market, many of whom clearly value the opportunity to pay a premium for whatever benefits GX offers to them personally.

Also “back in the day” the GEx premium “disappeared” the minute you were booking to/from beyond London.

 

[Cowley]

There’s a lot of stuff being discussed in this thread that’s speculative. Most of which I think will be best served in the thread we’ve split off now:

Opinions/suggestions for changes to Great Northern or Thameslink and linked services.

That said, I agree that Welwyn Sevenoaks should go all-day; and if it does then I can see no justification for retaining the Alexandra Palace calls on the Cambridge service. mods note - split from this thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/december-2026-timetable-change.302817/ FYI...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Baji]

There’s a lot of stuff being discussed in this thread that’s speculative. Most of which I think will be best served in the thread we’ve split off now:

Opinions/suggestions for changes to Great Northern or Thameslink and linked services.

That said, I agree that Welwyn Sevenoaks should go all-day; and if it does then I can see no justification for retaining the Alexandra Palace calls on the Cambridge service. mods note - split from this thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/december-2026-timetable-change.302817/ FYI...

www.railforums.co.uk

does that include suggestions for Southern and Gatwick Express as thread only mentions Thameslink and Great Northern.

 

[Cowley]

does that include suggestions for Southern and Gatwick Express as thread only mentions Thameslink and Great Northern.

Yes I think that’s fine as it’s related obviously. I’ll tweak the thread title slightly.

 

[Nicholas43]

On 4 June, Lord Hendy gave a written answer indicating a probable start date of December 2026 for services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. The full text can be found here. To me, the published answer does not entirely make sense: below is what I think the DfT means.

Chiltern [Railways management] [has] worked with Network Rail, DfT and other operators on the December 2026 timetable and services have been [provisionally] timetabled between Oxford, Winslow, Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a [definite?] start date for the[se] first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow.

 

[The Planner]

On 4 June, Lord Hendy gave a written answer indicating a probable start date of December 2026 for services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. The full text can be found here. To me, the published answer does not entirely make sense: below is what I think the DfT means.

Effectively DfT has said sort yourselves out and start running trains.

 

[dk1]

Effectively DfT has said sort yourselves out and start running trains.

At long last they’ve seen sense and stopped poking their oar in.

 

[800002]

On 4 June, Lord Hendy gave a written answer indicating a probable start date of December 2026 for services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. The full text can be found here. To me, the published answer does not entirely make sense: below is what I think the DfT means.

Essentially, this means next to nothing.

Yes, paths for the full passenger operation are being included / accommodated in the base plan.

No, there is no confirmed start date, but by default, if it comes about the East West services can start operating sometime between December and May, then yes - the first service is contained in the base timetable.

To note, the paths have been in the base timetable for the previous two or three timetables. Just not published as to be viewable in public systems.

 

[XC victim]

Our local MP has just posted on Facebook 11 additional Chiltern Railway services a day for Banbury. Does this mean a partial reinstatement of the Banbury to Marylebone stopping service or are these just increases to the mainline Birmingham Moor St to Marylebone service?

 

[Kite159]

Our local MP has just posted on Facebook 11 additional Chiltern Railway services a day for Banbury. Does this mean a partial reinstatement of the Banbury to Marylebone stopping service or are these just increases to the mainline Birmingham Moor St to Marylebone service?

Bringing back the missing gaps in the half hourly Birmingham - Marylebone services I would imagine.

 

[splashoutradio]

Within the rail industry, there's currently a project to release forthcoming timetables sooner so that advance tickets can be purchased earlier. As a result, December 2026 timetable data is now beginning to trickle through.

From a quick glance, the first TOCs appearing are; LNER, Hull Trains, Grand Central and Lumo (East Coast).

Unfortunately RTT doesn't appear to work for dates more than 180 days into the future, but timings are available on other sites, such as rail-record.co.uk and Charlwoodhouse.co.uk.

As it's still very early days, the usual caveats apply - some trains may be missing and changes before the timetable start date are likely.

 

[The Planner]

Within the rail industry, there's currently a project to release forthcoming timetables sooner so that advance tickets can be purchased earlier. As a result, December 2026 timetable data is now beginning to trickle through.

From a quick glance, the first TOCs appearing are; LNER, Hull Trains, Grand Central and Lumo (East Coast).

Unfortunately RTT doesn't appear to work for dates more than 180 days into the future, but timings are available on other sites, such as rail-record.co.uk and Charlwoodhouse.co.uk.

As it's still very early days, the usual caveats apply - some trains may be missing and changes before the timetable start date are likely.

You can't go more than 6 months anyway really, NR don't offer the WTT until 26 weeks before. December got published yesterday.

 

[sammyg901]

Bringing back the missing gaps in the half hourly Birmingham - Marylebone services I would imagine.

Would have thought so. The Greg Smith MP covering Haddenham & Thame Parkway and other stations in the vicinity and he was happy with what he heard

Facebook

www.facebook.com

So I would imagine there are also extra "local" services south of Banbury. Especially critical at peak times (7 days a week) as the Explorer seating capacity will not be sufficient for heavy peak flows with lots of stops at key commuter stations - already a problem on the 1837 ex Marylebone for example

 

[nw1]

Our local MP has just posted on Facebook 11 additional Chiltern Railway services a day for Banbury. Does this mean a partial reinstatement of the Banbury to Marylebone stopping service or are these just increases to the mainline Birmingham Moor St to Marylebone service?

Would the extensions to Birmingham actually be "additional services in Banbury", as they currently terminate there anyway? Sounds more likely to be entirely new services I suspect.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Would the extensions to Birmingham actually be "additional services in Banbury", as they currently terminate there anyway? Sounds more likely to be entirely new services I suspect.

Unless they are being sneaky and counting the extra services from Birmingham to Banbury as a result of the extensions as well as any extras running from London?

 

[duffield]

.

I guess they have managed to get Network Rail to staff the various signal boxes for longer on a Sunday.

Could that be due to some new freight requirements or something? I just wonder who's paying for this as NR are supposedly skint.

 

[Class 466]

Plenty of Dec 26 already online - You'll need to use Rail Record to view it as Realtime Trains does not yet stretch that far. Northern, TPE, LNER, Lumo, GWR, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia to name a few

 

[SeanM1997]

Interestingly Rail Record shows 2 trains an hour with Northern between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly (same as today), even though LNWR are suggested to be taking the Manchester Airport path to run a Manchester Airport - Birmingham New Street service

 

[td97]

The £100m electrification between Wigan and Bolton looks set to remain underutilised, with the same Southport to Stalybridge/Oxford Rd Sprinter and unreliable 769 service as pre-electrification. Thoroughly embarrassing for all incompetent bodies involved.

 

[Kilopylae]

Isn’t there meant to be the new Bristol service?

GWR has thrown a temper tantrum about this, see discusison here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...les-england-train-links-by-government.302957/

 

[jamieintercity]

XC are extending their Edinburgh services to Glasgow Central every 2hrs, which includes a direct train from Bournemouth.

The early morning 2A01 dundee to Aberdeen now start from Edinburgh at 0530

 

[MboroFC]

Much on if LNER 225s will still go to Newcastle once a day?