New Train Services To/From Stafford.

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
In a major revamp of West Coast mainline and local services, it seems Stafford will be the major winner. According to the planned changes, there will be major improvements to services to/from Stafford with effect from the December 2022 timetable change.

There will be new hourly services:
1. to/from Scotland; and
2. to/from North Wales.

One London-Manchester service per hour will also be stopping at Stafford as well. However, this effectively replaces the hourly Avanti Liverpool-London Euston service, which will no longer stop at Stafford.

The result of the above changes will also see more services to/from London Euston as well.

The changes will also see the hourly Crewe-Stoke-Stafford-Wolverhampton-Birmingham service diverted between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, to call at Tame Bridge Parkway and, with effect from December 2023, it will also call at the new stations being built at Willenhall and Darlaston.

The above is based on announcements by Avanti and West Midlands Trains (London Northwestern Railway & West Midlands Railway). Cross Country Trains have not finalised their plans yet, so there may be additional changes on their routes.
It looks like five through trains a day each to Holyhead, Glasgow and Edinburgh and two to Blackpool and back so that's 34 trains daily again that Stafford lost soon after Branson got the franchise a quarter of a century ago.
 

DoggedWalker

Well-Known Forumite
The service that stops at Tame Bridge is totally pointless with the timetable as it is. If you board it at Birmingham you’ll arrive later than at least one, possibly two, services that depart New Street subsequent to it. It’s also ill thought out in terms of West Midlands commuters. Everyone wanting to travel to Wolverhampton ignored the stopping service and crowds onto the quicker Cross Country service.

Would be interesting to know what the demand from Tame Bridge actually is.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
The service that stops at Tame Bridge is totally pointless with the timetable as it is. If you board it at Birmingham you’ll arrive later than at least one, possibly two, services that depart New Street subsequent to it. It’s also ill thought out in terms of West Midlands commuters. Everyone wanting to travel to Wolverhampton ignored the stopping service and crowds onto the quicker Cross Country service.

Would be interesting to know what the demand from Tame Bridge actually is.
You are making the mistake of thinking anything is decided with passengers in mind :(
 

basil

don't mention the blinds
Well you wanna catch me waking up and getting out of bed to catch either if those on any Saturday night.......
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
Does anyone on here know if Stafford railway station's car park is likely to be full by 10am on a Tuesday ?
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Does anyone on here know if Stafford railway station's car park is likely to be full by 10am on a Tuesday ?
I don't think it gets that busy these days.

The open air one never seems to be full on most of the afternoons when I've caught the train recently so I assume it won't be full in the mornings.
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Does anyone on here know if Stafford railway station's car park is likely to be full by 10am on a Tuesday ?
I don't think it gets that busy these days.

The open air one never seems to be full on most of the afternoons when I've caught the train recently so I assume it won't be full in the mornings.
As an alternative you can book a space on Tesco's car park for £6 to £8 for the day through the Horizon parking app.
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
£4.70 for 24 hours weekday when I last booked Tesco car park through Yourparkingspace a couple of months ago.
It seems to vary in price quite a bit. Horizon and YourParkingSpace seem to be linked companies, if you book a space through one app, it also appears on the other.
 

gilesjuk

Well-Known Forumite
Last train from Birmingham to Stafford on a Saturday night 22.33
Last train from Manchester to Stafford on a Saturday night 21.30

Makes concert going a sober affair

That'll be most likely down to pay rules etc.. The workers will expect higher pay for doing saturday night. I lived near St Albans for a while and that had a 24 hour service to and from London, except Saturday night.
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Last train from Birmingham to Stafford on a Saturday night 22.33
Last train from Manchester to Stafford on a Saturday night 21.30

Makes concert going a sober affair
That'll be most likely down to pay rules etc.. The workers will expect higher pay for doing saturday night. I lived near St Albans for a while and that had a 24 hour service to and from London, except Saturday night.
I was told that the earlier finish on Saturday evenings was down to the track being made available for Network Rail to carry out any required 'weekend' engineering work.

Many other parts of the network, however, do not seem to be affected by this early Saturday night shutdown.
 

gilesjuk

Well-Known Forumite
I was told that the earlier finish on Saturday evenings was down to the track being made available for Network Rail to carry out any required 'weekend' engineering work.

Many other parts of the network, however, do not seem to be affected by this early Saturday night shutdown.

Well yes, engineering works might be one reason. Except it was 2000 when I lived near St Albans and the engineering works weren't quite so common then, then Hatfield happened then Potters Bar which kinda illustrated the network wasn't been maintained right.
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Well yes, engineering works might be one reason. Except it was 2000 when I lived near St Albans and the engineering works weren't quite so common then, then Hatfield happened then Potters Bar which kinda illustrated the network wasn't been maintained right.
I'm not sure what your point is as, unlike Stafford, St Albans and Hatfield both get an overnight passenger service.
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
The Plan

The plan is shut all ticket offices

At every station
There's only another five days for objecting to the closure of the Ticket Office at Stafford railway station.
You can comment using a form available in the ticket office,
or email TicketOffice.Avanti@transportfocus.org.uk
or write to them at FREEPOST RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 9PZ.
For more information about how to have your say visit www.transportfocus.org.uk.
 
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