Extra train services for passengers in new summer timetable

• Passengers to benefit from additional services between King’s Lynn and Cambridge
• Extra evening trains between London and Letchworth
• Moorgate services retimed
• Passengers should check before they travel

Passengers using the King’s Lynn to Cambridge Fen Line will have extra services to meet returning demand post-Covid when Great Northern and Thameslink introduce their new summer timetables on Sunday 21 May. [See editors’ notes for details.]

The journey between King’s Cross and Cambridge will also be quicker on some stopping services, and all trains will call at Alexandra Palace to provide more capacity for visitors to the event venue.

There will be extra evening services as far as Letchworth, and most trains between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City, and Stevenage via Hertford North, have been retimed to provide a more evenly spaced four-per-hour service in the off-peak between Alexandra Palace and Moorgate.

The times of other services may change as well, by as much as 30 minutes on some trains. Passengers are advised to check online journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk for details.

The new timetable affects only a few Thameslink routes. There will be one train per hour overnight between Bedford and Three Bridges, calling at Gatwick Airport. To better match demand, evening services (after 7:30pm) between Kentish Town and Luton will reduce in frequency, as will early evening services (approximately 7.30pm to 9:30pm) between Luton and Bedford. There will still be plenty of capacity and this is timed to avoid the rush hour and late evening when passengers are returning from nights out.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Great Northern and Thameslink, said: “We’re pleased to be making these adjustments to provide more seats when and where more passengers need them. Changes are designed to make the best positive difference locally, and respond to requests and suggestions from our passengers. We recommend that all our customers check online journey planners for changes on their route before travelling in the week beginning 21 May.”

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Editors’ notes

Great Northern and Thameslink: key May timetable changes

Great Northern

London King’s Cross to Ely / King’s Lynn

Several existing London King’s Cross to Ely services will be extended through to King’s Lynn. This will provide a half-hourly frequency between Ely and King’s Lynn between approximately 04:40 and 08:40 and between approximately 15:30 and 20:30. Several services have been retimed slightly to provide faster journey times. Some services [the 0812 and 1642 from Kings Lynn, and the 0602 and 1442 from King’s Cross] will now use eight-carriage Class 700 Thameslink trains.

Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City / Stevenage via Hertford North

Most trains have been retimed slightly to provide a more evenly spaced four-trains-per-hour service between Alexandra Palace and Moorgate in the off-peak.

London King’s Cross to Cambridge (stopping services)

Trains have been retimed slightly and journeys are now faster, particularly those out of London King’s Cross.

All services will now call additionally at Alexandra Palace, providing more capacity and direct connections for the venue.

Additional evening services will run, now providing a half-hourly frequency out of London King’s Cross until 21:27, then hourly. At Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn North and Knebworth, these extra services will replace the late-night Brighton to Cambridge Thameslink services.

The Thameslink King’s Cross to Letchworth/Cambridge service will be transferred to Great Northern, with some departures provided by Class 387 trains. During the off-peak, when the service is split (one train per hour runs London King’s Cross to Letchworth and the second runs King’s Cross to Cambridge), the two trains will be switched. This will change departure and arrival times at stations such as Foxton by 30 minutes. While this service will call at Ashwell & Morden during peak hours and in the evening, this station’s all-day service will now be provided by Thameslink Brighton to Cambridge services.

Thameslink

Three Bridges to Bedford

On weekdays and Saturdays, Three Bridges to Bedford services will terminate at Luton between 19:30 and 21:30, reducing the service between Luton and Bedford from four trains per hour to two trains per hour in this two-hour period.

Rainham to Luton

On weekdays and Saturdays, after the 18:43 departure from St Pancras International, all subsequent services on the Rainham to Luton Thameslink route will run between Rainham and Kentish Town only. Frequency at West Hampstead Thameslink, Mill Hill Broadway, Elstree & Borehamwood, Radlett, St Albans, Harpenden, Luton Airport Parkway and Luton will reduce by two trains per hour (to four or more per hour) after approximately 19:30. Frequency at Kentish Town will increase by two trains per hour.

Bedford to Three Bridges / Horsham to London Bridge – Sundays

Following a user-group suggestion, to improve the consistency of services, the one train per hour Sunday service between Horsham and London Bridge will be replaced by extending one of the two per hour services between Bedford and Three Bridges (via London Bridge) to Horsham. This also means there will now be direct Sunday services between Horsham, Littlehaven, Ifield, Crawley and London Blackfriars, Farringdon, and St Pancras International for the first time.

Bedford to Three Bridges – Overnight services

The 02:53 Bedford to Brighton service will now run Gatwick Airport to Brighton only, and the 03:15 Three Bridges to Bedford service will no longer run. This will mean that cross-London frequency is now hourly, rather than half-hourly between the hours of approximately 03:30 and 04:30.