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08
Feb
‘This is a big deal’: business group welcomes changes to Harrogate-London trains
A business group has welcomed changes to direct trains between Harrogate and London King’s Cross.
Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Martin Mann, shared comments on behalf of chamber members about the new timetable, which will be introduced in December, and hailed the benefits it will have on local businesses.
The Stray Ferret reported on the national timetable shake-up earlier this week, which affects all rail operators that run services along the east coast.
As part of the changes, the first weekday train to London from Harrogate will depart around an hour earlier.
The service, which currently leaves at 7.37am, will depart at 6.35am - arriving in London at 9.30am.
The first northbound train will leave London King’s Cross at 6.40am, and arrive in Harrogate at 9.29am, instead of the current 7.33am service.
A member of the chamber told the Stray Ferret the changes are 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.
Another member said when he travelled to London from Harrogate for work, the timings of the trains “never seemed to fit” with a working day.
The earlier train will be highly desirable and beneficial to businesses, especially for people attending early meetings, they added.
As part of the changes, LNER will scrap the existing 5.33pm last direct train from London to Harrogate. Commuters will instead have to board the 4.39pm.
Mr Mann said 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.
New weekend service
Weekend services will also be amended as part of the plans, which East Coast Main Line hopes will generate £60 million a year.
On Saturdays, the first train from London King’s Cross will depart at 6.40am – the first train currently leaves at 7.37am – and will arrive in Harrogate at 9.29am.
The first train travelling southbound will leave Harrogate at 6.35am and arrive in London at 9.30am.
The first train to depart from London King’s Cross on Sundays will be at 8.36am – arriving in Harrogate at 11.29am – whilst the first southbound train will leave Harrogate at 10.35am.
Currently, the first train leaves Harrogate at 9.15am on a Sunday.
A spokesperson for LNER told the Stray Ferret the operator will increase the number of trains between Harrogate and London King’s Cross per day from six to seven.
The spokesperson also said LNER hopes to introduce an extra northbound train between Harrogate and London King’s Cross, which would leave London an hour later than the existing last train.
LNER hopes this will come to fruition when the new tri-mode fleet – which run on overhead electricity, battery and diesel – is introduced.
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