New timetable promises Northampton-London in just 50 minutes by train for commuters

Northampton commuters are being promised faster trains to London when a new timetable comes into operation in mid-December with some peak journeys to the capital cut to just 50 minutes.

Currently just one train among eight from Northampton arriving in the capital by 9.32am takes less than an hour and the rest up to 86 minutes. From December 11, there will be still be nine trains to London Euston during the morning peak, but none will involve changes to speed up journey times with all of them taking less than an 61 minutes and making fewer stops along the way.

Operator London Northwestern Railway will also run trains every half-hour between Northampton and Birmingham. But the new timetable is set for a sticky start, however, as rail unions confirmed strikes will hit services for 48 hours on Tuesday (December 13) after rejecting an offer from the group representing train companies.

London Northwestern’s customer experience director, Jonny Wiseman, said: “These changes have been carefully planned to provide a more reliable, robust timetable for our customers.

“On some routes the new timetable will mean departure times have changed significantly so I am urging our customers to check their journeys carefully to avoid being left behind.”

■ Click www.lnr.uk/december for full details of the changes planned from mid-December.

Rail workers who are members of the RMT union are due to stage four two-day walkouts at 14 train firms in December in an ongoing row over pay, safety and job security. The strikes are planned for December 13-14, December 16-17, January 3-4 and January 6-7.

According to nationalworld.com, RDG offered workers an eight percent pay rise and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies before April 2024. But the offer was rejected in less than an hour with RMT general secretary Mick Lynch branding it “unacceptable”.

The RDG said its “fair and affordable” offer included a pay rise for staff of four percent backdated to April followed by another four percent next year and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024 and called on the union to avoid "upsetting the travel plans of millions and cause real hardship for businesses which depend on Christmas custom".

It also proposed a number of changes to current working practices — including repurposing or closing ticket offices, introducing new multiskilled roles and Sunday working where it is not in place already. It said using part-time contracts and flexible working patterns would help bring in a more diverse workforce who could fit in shifts around other commitments.

But Mr Lynch said: “This offer does not meet any of our criteria for securing a settlement on long-term job security, a decent pay rise and protecting working conditions."

He added it would “not only mean the loss of thousands of jobs" because of the closure of ticket offices, for example, but also the use of unsafe practices like driver-only operated trains”. He added it would “leave our railways chronically understaffed.”