THE START of Britain’s summer timetable on May 28 saw the introduction of regional Eurostar trains on the East Coast route. Two 14-car sets with crews have been leased by Great North Eastern Railway (right) to operate stopping services between London and York, relieving overcrowding on long-distance trains to Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Anglia Railways launched its Crosslink service between, Norwich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Basingstoke using the North London line on May 17 (lower photo). From May 29 this has opened up new journey opportunities, offering an alternative to the congested M25 orbital motorway and making some cross-London trips simpler. Services call at Feltham to connect with a bus shuttle to Heathrow Airport. In addition, three trains have been added to Anglia’s Norwich-London service.

On Thameslink, Bedford and Luton now have six trains an hour to London at the shoulders of the peak; many other trains make additional stops both north and south of the river.

Thames Trains is adding extra London-Oxford trains, with a 15 min interval service on Saturdays, while Chiltern Railways gives Warwick a half-hourly London service in preparation for opening of the parkway station there later in the year. Elsewhere, the long-planned reintroduction of trains between Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford brings a new station at Brighouse. On Connex South Central, the London - Horsham - Chichester line reverts to half-hourly service for the first time since 1984.

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