December 2025 Timetable Change Speculation

[cle]

Transport for Wales (TfW) to launch a new shuttle service between Chester and Wrexham General from December 2025, operating 1x per hour.

This means 2x trains per hour between Chester and Wrexham when combined with North Wales - Shrewsbury - Cardiff/Birmingham

It is planned this new shuttle service will combine with the Chester - Crewe service from May 2026. Once signalling has been completed on Chester-Shrewsbury line, the shuttle will be extended further to give two trains an hour between Gobowen and Chester although that's longer term

So will this terminate at Gobowen longer term, or actually at Shrewsbury?

Begs the question if this should be a full teardrop service, with the Chester-Crewe shuttle being extended to become the Shrewsbury stopper, and hourly. Might enable some faster Manchester services, or indeed Liverpool-Cardiff ones eventually.

 

[45Fox]

It would be nice if Birmingham to Leicester M-F at peak times didn't have any hour-long gaps in it. Dec 2024 had a gap between 0852 and 0952 i.e. no 0922. That has been reinstated in the May 2025 timetable. But the M-F 0822 has now gone!

There's also a long gap in services towards the end of the evening, Monday-Saturday. 20.52 New Street-Leicester then nothing till the 22.22 ex. New Street (the last one). This often leads to overcrowding on the 22.22, especially Friday & Saturday nights. There really does need to be something between them, either a 21.22 or 21.52 departure.

 

[hux385]

Still waiting on the two Avanti Glasgow-Euston via Birmingham trains that were reinstated in May to appear in the December timetable on RealTime Trains. Also hoping that they will get better paths out of Glasgow rather than leaving 3 minutes behind the 0936 and the 1333 as they do in the May timetable.

Anyone got any further knowledge on this?

 

[Kite159]

I can't help thinking merging the Crewe - Chester shuttle with the new Chester - Wrexham shuttle won't be a good idea. Especially as the Crewe - Chester trains can get quite busy (especially when Avanti give up the ghost).

The timetable at Wrexham still is a bit of a mess in terms of departure times varying every hour. Ideal world that new shuttle will be 30 minutes different to the long distance trains (hence giving Wrexham - Chester a proper 2tph service) rather than 2 trains in 10 minutes then nothing for 55 minutes, at least the shuttle will take the bulk of Chester travellers

 

[hexagon789]

Still waiting on the two Avanti Glasgow-Euston via Birmingham trains that were reinstated in May to appear in the December timetable on RealTime Trains. Also hoping that they will get better paths out of Glasgow rather than leaving 3 minutes behind the 0936 and the 1333 as they do in the May timetable.

Anyone got any further knowledge on this?

I'm sure it was mentioned upthread by one of the knowledgeable members involved in train planning that they were both still operating and now had more traditional (and better) paths.

 

[SeanM1997]

I can't help thinking merging the Crewe - Chester shuttle with the new Chester - Wrexham shuttle won't be a good idea. Especially as the Crewe - Chester trains can get quite busy (especially when Avanti give up the ghost).

The timetable at Wrexham still is a bit of a mess in terms of departure times varying every hour. Ideal world that new shuttle will be 30 minutes different to the long distance trains (hence giving Wrexham - Chester a proper 2tph service) rather than 2 trains in 10 minutes then nothing for 55 minutes, at least the shuttle will take the bulk of Chester travellers

The Crewe - Chester shuttle has always appeared a weird shuttle ever since it was detached from the North Wales Coast. By connecting to Wrexham, it will enhance connectivity from Wrexham to West Coast Mainline - especially to London, Birmingham and Scotland.

Interesting that the Crewe hub is growing in connectivity - Lincoln being added from December (EMR), Lumo in June 2025, and LNWR proposing to extend their existing terminating services to Manchester Victoria and Manchester Airport.

 

[ayubdaud]

Still waiting on the two Avanti Glasgow-Euston via Birmingham trains that were reinstated in May to appear in the December timetable on RealTime Trains. Also hoping that they will get better paths out of Glasgow rather than leaving 3 minutes behind the 0936 and the 1333 as they do in the May timetable.

Anyone got any further knowledge on this?

It appears those paths were subject to a timetable dispute, which probably explains why they are not published.

 

[SeanM1997]

Avanti appears to be operating a 1205 London Euston - Crewe (1K21) / 1529 Crewe - London Euston (1A55). Both call at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth, with the southbound also calling at Rugby

Seems a weird addition to the timetable?

 

[Bald Rick]

Avanti appears to be operating a 1205 London Euston - Crewe (1K21) / 1529 Crewe - London Euston (1A55). Both call at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth, with the southbound also calling at Rugby

Seems a weird addition to the timetable?

Its a Liverpool path that can’t go to Liverpool.

 

[Peter0124]

Its a Liverpool path that can’t go to Liverpool.

Why not?

 

[Halish Railway]

Why not?

It appears to be a combination of a continuing lack of power supply and this freight working using the path it would have taken between Crewe and Weaver Junction.

 

[The Planner]

It appears those paths were subject to a timetable dispute, which probably explains why they are not published.

Issues with how they perform. The dispute hearing was the other week I think.

 

[Bald Rick]

Issues with how they perform. The dispute hearing was the other week I think.

Last week.