Travel by rail is quicker to Blackpool

 

RAIL travellers in Blackpool will see quicker services and changed departure times with the start of a new timetable.

First TransPennine Express (FTPE) and Northern Rail will introduce the improvements from Sunday 14th December.

Overall journey time improvements from Manchester Airport to Blackpool will be 10 minutes and to Preston the journey will be cut by 12 minutes.

FTPE trains will run with fewer stops throughout the day with journey time savings of around 15 minutes and one evening service will be 34 minutes quicker from Blackpool to Manchester Airport. Northern Rail will serve intermediate stations with its new Manchester Victoria to Blackpool service. The local service will depart Manchester Victoria at 22 minutes past the hour and Blackpool North at 20 minutes past the hour.

Vernon Barker, Managing Director for First TransPennine Express, said: "Working with Northern we have provided a robust timetable which will reduce the amount of time it takes to travel to and from Blackpool. We hope that this will make a positive difference to the majority of passengers who are increasingly using rail to travel."

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern Rail said: "We are delighted to work with First TransPennine Express to provide a better train service for our passengers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. These changes are part of our entirely new timetable for the North West of England, which means new times for 1,300 of our daily services."

Southbound from Blackpool, the 0744 First TransPennine Express departure to Manchester Airport is retimed to 0736 and couples at Preston to a service from Edinburgh. This will provide useful extra capacity into Manchester with the train calling at Oxford Road at 0851.

Heading north, services will depart from Manchester Airport at 29 minutes past the hour, 18 minutes earlier than now and departures from Piccadilly will be at 46 minutes past the hour.

An eight minute connection will be available at Preston into northbound Virgin Pendolino London - Glasgow services and a 21 minute connection into services from Birmingham to Scotland.

The new timetable also includes provision for stops in most services at the proposed new station at Buckshaw Village, Chorley.

Ends