December timetable change

Significant changes, in particular to services between Farringdon and Barbican and Moorgate, are included in the new winter timetable which comes into force on the Thameslink route on Sunday 14 December 2008.

Some services that would have run to Moorgate are being diverted to City Thameslink and Blackfriars and others that would have gone to City Thameslink and Blackfriars are running into Moorgate instead. Evening peak departures from Moorgate are more evenly spaced.

These alterations are necessary to accommodate major changes being made by East Midlands Trains and Southern Railway as a result of their franchise commitments and to make the 22 March 2009 closure of the Thameslink route Farringdon to Moorgate branch line fit in with their timetables which will not change again until May.

If you don’t have a suitable direct service, you can take the Tube between Farringdon, Barbican and Moorgate. Your FCC ticket will be valid.

Please check the new timetable. It is also available at Thameslink route stations from 29/30 November.

Highlights of other changes:

Extra evening trains – weekdays

Sutton and all stations from Streatham to St Albans will have 4 trains per hour instead of 2 per hour until 2200.

Mill Hill Broadway station – weekdays

Mill Hill customers benefit from eight additional services – two in the morning peak into London, two in the evening peak out of London and four more in the evening off-peak out of London.

Redhill

0849 weekday southbound stop at Redhill removed to accommodate the new Southern timetable. Customers are advised to change at East Croydon for alternative Southern services to Redhill.

Services strengthened

The timetable will also strengthen some services. For example:

0609 Brighton to Bedford from 4 to 8 carriages.

0854 Bedford to Brighton was listed as the country’s eighth most crowded train because it is the first off-peak train of the day from St Albans. This will be doubled in length from four to eight carriages to provide extra capacity.

1724 fast Moorgate to Bedford (St Pancras International 1732) increased from 4 to 8 carriages to help compensate for the loss of the Bedford call in the 1730 East Midlands service from St Pancras International.