In his latest column, High Peak MP Robert Largan writes about the forthcoming return of more Northern train services on local lines.

Following my long-running campaign to 'Bring Back Our Trains', I am very pleased to report that Northern Rail will introduce a new timetable from Sunday 11 December.

Earlier this year, I presented a petition to Parliament signed by over 2,000 local rail users, calling on Northern to restore the full local train timetable, following the prolonged reduction of services due to Covid.

Commuters from Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale and New Mills Newtown will see the return to two trains an hour during peak hours on the Buxton-Manchester line, with a new 08:16 service from Buxton. This will be on top of trains at 06:43, 07:16, 07:45 and 08:45.

New Mills Central passengers are the biggest winners with the restoration of two trains per hour to Manchester throughout the day and three trains per hour in the morning peak rush, with new services at 07:34 and 07:46.

There will also be services to Manchester at 06:28, 06:55, 08:01, 08:20 and 08:48. New Mills central passengers will also gain an additional peak train towards Sheffield.

These benefits for New Mills come on top of the restored service at New Mills Newtown, meaning that during the morning rush, New Mills passengers have five trains an hour heading into Manchester!

Passengers on the Glossop-Manchester line will benefit from a proper return to the half-hourly service throughout the day, with the return of the 08:14 train from Hadfield and the 08:19 from Glossop in the morning rush.

However, due to Christmas engineering works, the new timetable won’t come into effect on the Glossop line until 3 January.

On top of the reduced train timetable, commuter misery has been made worse by repeated train cancellations, partly as a result of industrial disputes. Northern Rail have recently reached agreement with ASLEF trade union, which is expected to lead to fewer cancellations and a more reliable service.

This progress comes on top of the £137 million upgrade to the Hope Valley (Manchester-Sheffield) line, which is currently under construction.

I am really pleased that we’ve managed to secure the vital restoration of train services after many months of campaigning. I want to thank everyone who has supported my campaign and the 2,000 local people who signed my petition to ‘Bring Back Our Trains’. I will be carefully monitoring the new timetable and continue to fight to reduce commuter misery.

This shows what we can achieve when we work together!

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