Timetable change?

[JBuchananGB]

I have received a slightly confusing message from Northern
I have booked tickets with them for travel on 17 October with itinerary:
1412 depart Southport 1511 arrive Liverpool South Parkway.
1524 depart Liverpool South Parkway 1628 arrive Wolverhampton
1638 depart Wolverhampton 1723 arrive Coventry
Northern have emailed to say:
Unfortunately, part of your 14:12 journey from Southport to Coventry on Friday, 17 October 2025 has been affected by a change to the timetable. The West Midlands Trains service is no longer stopping at Liverpool South Parkway, where you were scheduled to change trains.
I'm thinking, no problem, I'll get off at Liverpool Central, walk over to Lime Street and get on it there.
So I checked the situation with FastJp.com with the following result.

Planner - Results - FastJP

fastjp.com

According to this, West Midland Trains still calling at Liverpool South Parkway at 15.24
Who am I to believe?

 

[30907]

According to this, West Midland Trains still calling at Liverpool South Parkway at 15.24
Who am I to believe?

...whereas the Merseyrail times have altered (autumn leaf fall timetable?).

 

[Bevan Price]

Looking at RTT, trains from Southport on 17 October depart at 14:03 then 14:18.
In any case, I would not trust an 11 minute connection at South Parkway. It is a longish walk between Merseyrail and main line platforms, and even a few minutes delay on Merseyrail could mean a missed connection.

 

[JBuchananGB]

I will double check nearer the time. MerseyRail timetable has changed to the same as it is now, with Southport trains terminating at Central. I think this is due to 8-car trains unable to serve stations between there and Hunts Cross. As I have an Advance ticket valid only on the 15.24 I might take the 13.48 from Southport to give me some slack at South Parkway. If the WMT really isn't calling there I could still catch it at Lime Street.

 

[Kite159]

In my eyes if you can manage the walk from Liverpool Central to Lime Street then it's best to board the LNR service at Lime Street rather than at South Parkway.
Gives you a better chance of a decent seat if a 350/2 pops up.

South parkway isn't the nicest place to hang around for trains

 

[JBuchananGB]

Quite likely I will take the 13.48 from Southport and walk from Central to Lime Street, board the WMT there for 15.12 departure. Although this does not match the itinerary on my advance ticket, it should be OK. Ticket says "specified XC and connections" stipulating the 15.24 from South Parkway and the 16.38 XC from Wolverhampton.

 

[Kite159]

Boarding a Birmingham bound XC at Wolverhampton... Good luck with that.

Shame you can't stay on the LNR into New Street and have a better chance of boarding the voyager during the passenger turnover at Birmingham.

 

[yorkie]

Boarding a Birmingham bound XC at Wolverhampton... Good luck with that.

Shame you can't stay on the LNR into New Street and have a better chance of boarding the voyager during the passenger turnover at Birmingham.

Changing at Stafford may be better; any of these changes can be forced at the time of booking, but it's too late once the tickets have been purchased.

If arrival time is important, I'd be specifying additional interchange time at Liverpool, and also boarding the WMT service at the origin, for a better seat. I'd use the seat selector to choose a decent seat on the XC from Stafford, but if there were no seats available, I'd consider changing at Birmingham, from where there are plenty of alternative trains to Coventry.

But it all depends on the requirements; someone wanting fewer changes, or less walking, or step-free, etc may have different preferences.