ATOC

More seats for more passengers in summer timetable
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date 19 May 2000
source ATOC
type Press release

Britain's passenger train companies will be providing more than 45,000 extra passenger seats a day for the upcoming summer timetable to meet growing passenger demand.

The summer timetable, which starts on the 28 May, reveals 18,664 services will operate on a normal week day. That is 259 more services a day than last year's summer timetable and 1,682 services more a day compared to summer 1995 - the last full timetable when all train operators were in public ownership.

Commenting on upcoming summer timetable, Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) Chairman, Giles Fearnley, said: "Since privatisation, the train operators have responded to the tremendous passenger growth the industry has experienced by continually scheduling more and more services. Unfortunately, we are now at a stage where many routes can no longer accommodate any more trains.

"With more than one billion passenger journeys for the past year and growth of 50 per cent expected over the next 10 years, the rail network urgently needs large amounts of investment from the industry and government to provide passengers with the modern and efficient rail system that they want and deserve."

During the currency of the new timetable, from 28 May to 23 September, trains will cover a total of 804,506 miles per weekday, a 1.8 per cent increase on summer 1999. In total, more than two million trains will cover approximately 91 million miles.

ENDS

Note to editors

Highlights on the summer timetable include:

Anglia - a new direct link between East Anglia and Hampshire, calling at Feltham for Heathrow Airport, and Stratford for interchange with the Jubilee Line Extension for Greenwich and the Millennium Dome. New journey opportunities will become available as a result of the train/bus services connecting with these trains.

Central Trains - lengthening trains and providing extra services on key routes to reduce overcrowding, and an additional Sunday service between Stourbridge and Dorridge.

Chiltern Railway - Chiltern Railways summer timetable will bring significant increases in services and seats to all its passengers. These improvements have been achieved by the introduction of 10 new London Clubman vehicles enabling selected peak services to and from the West Midlands to be lenghtened. The rolling stock released will provide additional services and seats for other areas of the network.

First Great Western - providing extra weekday services for customers travelling between Paddington and Didcot, Cheltenham and Newbury.

Great North Eastern Railway - Running 125 services a day, the most intensive timetable ever on the East Coast main line and increasing capacity by 25,000 seats a week.

Northern Spirit - For the first time ever, Northern Spirit will run 16 Transpennine Express trains direct from Manchester City to Manchester Airport, providing links with local and international transport operators.

Midland Mainline - will run an hourly Turbostar Train service from Luton Airport Parkway station to London St Pancras - the first train services to run non-stop to the centre of London in just 25 minutes. Northbound trains will link Luton Airport Parkway Station with major cities in the East Midlands, including Leicester and Derby.

South West Trains - will be running new services, extra late night trains and offering more peak hour seats. The greatest benefits are to passengers on the Bournemouth, Salisbury, Kingston, Windsor, Staines and Hounslow Loop lines. Across the network services have also been extended, additional stops added to a number of destinations and longer trains created.

ScotRail - will be running more trains, providing more seats, cutting journey times and reducing fares for passengers between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Thameslink - Bedford and Luton off peak CityFlier services to London, will be increased from one to two trains an hour. These trains are in addition to the normal 15 minute frequency, and will create increased off peak capacity in the mornings. In the afternoons, CityFlier services leaving London for Bedford will increase to two trains an hour, again in addition to our normal 15 minute frequency service.

Thames Trains - No less than six additional express services will operate between Paddington and Oxford during weekdays. There will be 13 additional services on Saturdays on the same route. Fifteen additional stops will be made at Didcot Parkway during weekdays, with 29 additional services stopping at Didcot on Saturdays.

For more information ATOC press office 020 7904 3010

Railhub Archive ::: 2000-05-19 ATO-001