Northampton rail passengers urged to check before they travel as new timetables start this weekend

Northampton rail passengers are being urged to check their journey times ahead of new timetables starting this weekend.

Operator London Northwestern Railway is adding thousands of extra seats and more peak hour trains ahead of a predicted rise in passenger numbers across the network.

Two extra direct services to London Euston will run from Castle Station in the mornings, arriving in the capital before 9am, with three more extra trains adding to the evening peak service to Northampton.

Some evening Avanti West Coast services have been retimed with connections at Milton Keynes Central for passengers heading back to Northampton.

Longer 12-car trains on services from Milton Keynes and more routes starting and finishing at Northampton should also aid social distancing on board as schools and workplaces return across the country following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although Public Health guidance in Northampton remains "to work from home where you can" while the town is still a Covid-19 hotspot, Government ministers are driving a big campaign nationally to return to workplaces.

LNR's customer experience director Lawrence Bowman said: “This timetable is the most significant step up in our capacity since lockdown. We’re adding thousands of extra seats to give our customers the space to travel with confidence.

“We're urging our customers travelling from Sunday onwards to check their journeys carefully as their train times may have changed.

“We’ve taken all the aspects which made our lockdown timetable work so well and expanded them as increasing numbers of customers continue returning to the railway.

"This simpler timetable aims to be more reliable for passengers with longer trains to help social distancing wherever we can."

Passengers are also being reminded that wearing a face covering is compulsory on trains and in stations unless exempt for medical reasons. Non-compliance is punishable by a fine from British Transport Police.