Business people bound for Sheffield in South Yorkshire will find their trains retimed from next Monday (December 15).
Currently most trains depart London St Pancras for Sheffield at 25 mins past the hour. But from Monday the departure time will be reset to 55 mins past the hour.
However departure times from Sheffield remain unchanged at 27 mins past the hour.
The move comes as train firm East Midlands Trains (EMT) speeds up its London-Sheffield services. Trains will take roughly 10 mins less than before bringing the journey time down to just under 130 mins.
But there could be some drawbacks. Rail experts say the new timings now call for a shorter 20 mins turnaround in Sheffield. This allows little slack in the schedule should the incoming service be delayed.
They also say that the faster Meridian diesel trains (these consist of either five or seven coaches) which are being drafted onto the route cannot accommodate as many passengers as the 25-year old HSTs which currently operate most trains and which have an additional one or two carriages.
An EMT spokesperson claims that the company is used to working to such tight turnarounds at its other stations so the shortened time in Sheffield shouldn’t present a problem. EMT also believes that the more limited passenger capacity won’t be a problem because trains are making fewer stops down the route.
For more information go to eastmidlandstrains.co.uk.
Report by Alex McWhirter
