A revamp of train timetables will take effect across the West Midlands this Sunday, bringing new direct links, later trains and altered calling points on several routes. The new timetable will run until 12 December, and passengers are being urged to check the updated schedules before travelling.
Among the biggest changes, London Northwestern Railway will offer a direct weekday service between Walsall and London Euston for the first time. One train will leave Walsall at 05:46, while the 18:26 Euston to Birmingham New Street service will reach Walsall at 21:16. The operator will also add two later Saturday services between New Street and Liverpool Lime Street, giving travellers more options later in the day.
West Midlands Railway is also changing several of its own services. Its weekday 05:28 New Street to Lichfield Trent Valley Cross City service will call at more stations, and some weekend morning services are being introduced. The company said passengers should check travel times because some may differ from what they are used to.
CrossCountry Trains is adding another PM peak service that will call at Crewe on weekdays, and it has pointed to extra journeys between Reading and Newcastle in the north-east. Transport for Wales services from New Street to north Wales every two hours will run to and from Llandudno Junction rather than Holyhead under the new arrangement. Avanti West Coast’s additions include the 20:47 New Street to Euston on weekdays.
The changes have been summarised on the National Rail website, which is where travellers will find the broad picture before setting out. The timing matters because rail timetables are updated twice a year, in May and December, and new timetables must be published 12 weeks in advance so the separate train and freight companies can feed into one national plan.
That national timetable is coordinated by Network Rail, which brings together the schedules each operator wants to run and turns them into a single system. The latest overhaul also lands after the government said in November that rail fares in England would be frozen this year. The freeze lasts until March 2027 and covers regulated fares, including season tickets and off-peak returns, but only on services run by England-based train operating companies. For passengers trying to work out what changed and when, the answer is simple: the new schedule starts Sunday, and for some routes the next journey may not be the one they expected.
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