Temporary changes made to final confirmation of timetable

Temporary changes made to final confirmation of timetable

You may be aware that Network Rail has made temporary changes to the advanced availability of final timetables for approximately six months from 20 May onwards, meaning these will be published later than normal. This has been caused by the overrunning of engineering works in the North West of the country, and subsequently not being able to change the amended May 2018 timetable change in time.

As a result, for the majority of TOCs, timetables will not be confirmed until 6 weeks out (this is normally 12 weeks).

Whilst tickets will be available at 12 weeks, these could be subject to change once the timetable is confirmed. Customers holding tickets that subsequently change will be entitled to a full refund.

There is a Rail Delivery Group press release on this is, which is located here: https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/media-centre/press-releases/2018/469773793-2018-02-23.html

Regarding National Rail Enquiries communications, Rail Delivery Group has created an item for it on the Carousel on the homepage, and have a dedicated URL for this with all the relevant information www.nationalrail.co.uk/timetablechange

Customers also have the ability to self-sign up to alerts for weekly updates to changes made about their TOC www.nationalrail.co.uk/timetablechangealert

The Q&A’s are below, and they’re included on the NRE Page;

Q&A’s:
Is my journey affected?
When booking through National Rail Enquires, if the route selected has not been confirmed, a notice will appear at the top if the page informing you that there may be a change to your journey.
• While most of the time information shown will remain the same, if you want to keep updated on any changes please sign up to our email list here: www.nationalrail.co.uk/timetablechangealert

How do I know if I’ve got the best ticket?
• If people buy a ticket for a service affected by this change and then, at a later date advance tickets are made available which are at a cheaper fare, customers should book the advance fare for that service and then request a fee-free refund on their original ticket.

Which services are affected?
• You will still be able to purchase 3 months in advance. When booking through National Rail Enquires where the service has not been confirmed a notification will appear. While you can still book tickets, these routes are subject to change. If changes occur and you no longer want to use your ticket you will be entitled to a full refund.

I still want to book three months in advance what should I do?
• You will still be able to purchase 3 months in advance. When booking through National Rail Enquires where the service has not been confirmed a notification will appear. While you can still book tickets, these routes are subject to change. If changes occur and you no longer want to use your ticket you will be entitled to a full refund.

Why is this happening?
• The core timetable changes twice a year, in May and December. As a result of billions of pounds of investment in the rail network, and in new trains and services, the May 2018 timetable change is the largest in living memory, needing the rescheduling of almost four million services – some 600% more than normal.
• The scale of this change was being managed by the rail industry, which was also taking into account unexpected alterations to infrastructure projects, to the introduction of new trains and to new services by some operators. There was then a significant delay to the major electrification work between Manchester and Preston. This meant that the Network Rail timetable planning teams have been unable to deliver the new timetable within the usual timescales.

If you have any questions or queries, please can you direct these to travelagents@raildeliverygroup.com

Many thanks

Rail Delivery Group Travel Agents Team