Train travel across Northern England will see major changes over the festive period, with reduced services on Christmas Eve and no trains operating on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Passengers are being urged to plan ahead and check schedules before setting off.
On Wednesday 24 December, Northern Trains will run a normal Wednesday timetable, but last trains will depart earlier than usual.
The commuter and medium-distance intercity network across the North of England will continue to operate, though passengers travelling between Manchester and Leeds may encounter alterations due to ongoing TransPennine Route Upgrade works between Huddersfield, Brighouse, and Dewsbury. Northern advises checking before travel and anticipates busy trains.
A replacement bus will operate in place of the 00:20 service between Warrington Central and Liverpool. Key last train times to and from Liverpool Lime Street on Christmas Eve include:
Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North – 19:39
Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western – 19:45
Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly – 20:00
Liverpool Lime Street to Preston – 20:13
Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Oxford Road – 20:22
Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool Lime Street – 19:54
Blackpool North to Liverpool Lime Street – 20:05
Preston to Liverpool Lime Street – 20:29
Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool Lime Street – 20:46
Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street – 20:52
Warrington Central to Liverpool Lime Street – 21:18
No services will operate on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, giving passengers two days without trains across the Northern network.
Matt Rice, Chief Operating Officer at Northern, emphasised the importance of planning ahead: “Whilst fewer people are travelling, Network Rail will be carrying out a range of improvement works across the network, so I’d encourage customers to ‘check before you travel’ over the festive period to see if your journey is affected.”
Passengers should note that the disruptions are partly due to essential works aimed at improving infrastructure and reliability, making pre-planning for festive travel particularly important this year.
