Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
07
Nov
Commuter concerns over changes to London-Harrogate trains
A member of a local business group has said changes to direct trains between Harrogate and London will not help businesses.
East Coast Main Line this year announced a major timetable shake-up, which will impact all rail operators that run services along the east coast.
Direct services between Harrogate and London King’s Cross are set to be affected by the changes, including the last - and peak commuter - train being brought forward an hour.
The last northbound train currently leaves London King’s Cross at 5.33pm on weekdays, but, as of December 14, people travelling to Harrogate will instead have to board the 4.39pm service.
The changes only apply to direct services, meaning people can travel on later trains and change at York or Leeds, but Phill Holdsworth, president of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and member of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, told the Stray Ferret the new timetable “doesn’t really help businesses”.
He added:
If anyone has business in London, they'd have to cram it in and then run for the train.
I have spent a lot of time working in London and would have meetings at 9am, so at times I’d just work there until 5pm before getting the train home. However, the last direct train will be at 4.39pm, so there’s no consideration for businesses in the area.
Mr Holdsworth said he would like a later direct service departing at around 6.30pm to be introduced to help those travelling back to Harrogate.
Chief executive of the chamber, Martin Mann, shared comments on behalf of chamber members when the changes were announced in February.
One member said at the time the timetable shake-up was a “big deal”, adding:
The 6.35am train makes Harrogate to London in a day viable for businesses, which makes a real difference financially. It can be the difference between, say, £100 per trip and £500+ with an overnight stay.
Mr Mann also said at the time although the last northbound train will be an hour earlier, people will still be able to travel on trains to Harrogate via Leeds or York, which leave later in the evening.
Changes will provide 'thousands more seats'
When the Stray Ferret put Mr Holdsworth’s concerns to LNER, the operator’s commercial director David Flesher said:
From December 2025, LNER will be continuing to operate six weekday services from Harrogate to London King's Cross. There will also continue to be regular services in the opposite direction, and at weekends, keeping the spa town connected with the capital.
The new timetable will see changes to calling patterns across the East Coast Main Line, enabling quicker journeys between Harrogate and London King’s Cross as well as other areas on the LNER route. This is the biggest timetable change for the East Coast route in more than a decade and will provide customers with more trains and thousands more seats across the network each week. As an industry, we have worked together to make sure there is strong local and national connectivity to keep customers well served.
An LNER spokesperson in February told the Stray Ferret the operator would like to implement a northbound train departing around an hour later than the current 5.33pm service.
They said LNER was unable to do this at the time, but hoped it could materialise when the new tri-mode fleet – which run on overhead electricity, battery and diesel – is introduced.
A pop-up event at Harrogate train station due to be held on Tuesday (November 4) was postponed after a stabbing on an LNER train in Cambridgeshire on Saturday (November 1).
The event was intended to make passengers aware of the upcoming changes to the East Coast Main Line timetable, but LNER told the Stray Ferret it had been postponed following the mass stabbing.
0