'More services' promised as new train timetables rolled out across Wakefield, Pontefract and Castleford

Train operator Northern is promising more services and extended operating hours as they roll out a new timetable.
Train operator Northern is promising more services and extended operating hours as they roll out a new timetable.Train operator Northern is promising more services and extended operating hours as they roll out a new timetable.
Train operator Northern is promising more services and extended operating hours as they roll out a new timetable.

The new timetable will come into effect on Monday, September 14, and is designed to ensure that staff and services are available where required.

But it does not represent a return to pre-Covid services.

A spokesperson for Northern said: "Northern is set to introduced new timetables as the entire rail industry adapts to a ‘new normal’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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"Introduced on Monday 14 September, the timetables will deliver more services in many areas and will extend operating hours in others.

"On a very small number of routes there will be no increases and, for a handful, a reduction in services.

"The timetables don’t represent a return to pre-COVID service levels, but do reflect the challenges facing Northern and the changing demands of customers, many of whom will be returning to schools and workplaces for the first time in several months.

"We are doing all we can to provide the best possible service for customers across the network. Many members of staff have been shielding and the knock-on effects of the virus will be felt for many months.

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"With limited resources, the timetables have been designed to put all our available staff in the right places at the right times to keep as many people as possible on the move without risking reduced punctuality and reliability."

The Knottingley to Leeds service, which calls at Pontefract, Featherstone, Streethouse, Glasshoughton, Wakefield and more, will now run between 6am and 11pm, with up to two services an hour.

The Leeds to Knottingley services will begin at 5.24am, with the last service leaving at 11.18pm.

Meanwhile, services on the Leeds to Sheffield and Doncaster line, which also passes through South Elmsall, Fitzwilliam, Sandal and Agbrigg, Wakefield and Outwood, will run from 5am to 11am, with reverse services from 5.30am to 11.30am.

View the full timetables on the Northern website here.