Northern has continued to take into account stakeholder and customer feedback during the Emergency Timetable period to make amendments where we can. From Monday 20th April will be making the following changes to service:
– The current Southport-Stalybridge service via Bolton and Manchester Victoria will operate to and from Manchester Oxford Road. This is to improve key worker access from the Southport/Bolton corridor to the hospitals in the Oxford Road area. The service will also call at Deansgate to allow access to the new NHS Nightingale hospital at Manchester Central. Customers for Ashton-under-Lyne should change at Deansgate for Manchester Metrolink services on which National Rail Tickets to/from Ashton will be valid. Stalybridge customers are advised to use Transpennine Express services to/from Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Victoria. There are regular bus services linking Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne.
– There will be additional 0605 and 2130 Blackpool North-Preston services and 0635 and 2200 Preston-Blackpool North services, in response to requests to cater for Blackpool Victoria hospital.
– The 0620 Liverpool Lime St-Manchester Oxford Road via Warrington Central is retimed to depart at 0610 and run 10 minutes earlier throughout, in response to requests to cater for Trafford General hospital.
– Some Barrow/Windermere-Manchester Airport services are retimed to start earlier, to avoid clashes with other services that are running on the West Coast Main Line. Calling patterns are unaltered. Timings for services in the other direction (Manchester Airport-Windermere/Barrow are unaffected).