Cleethorpes could lose its direct train link to Manchester Airport under plans to ease rail congestion in the North West, taking Doncaster, Sheffield, Grimsby and Scunthorpe links with it.
Manchester Recovery Task Force has published a consultation that would see the TransPennine service go through to Liverpool, with the city centre Piccadilly Station providing a change for the business and holiday gateway.
Currently served hourly, the frequency wouldn’t change, should it come into force in May 2022.
Manchester’s link with Hull could also be tweaked, with travel time between the two cities slowed as more stops are made between Huddersfield and Stalybridge throughout the day - rather than just at peak at present.
It comes in the face of some calls to favour a direct Hull to Manchester Airport route over more provincial areas.
Two options are being put forward in a major shake-up designed to ease flows, with infrastructure unable to cope with planned frequency - remain the same or change.
Performance of Northern and TransPennine trains is well below that of the national average, dropping significantly from spring 2018.
Headed by Network Rail, Department for Transport and Transport for the North, the author of the document - recently published on the government's website - said: “This consultation is seeking views from the public and stakeholders on rail timetable work that has been undertaken during 2020 to address the poor performance of the rail network in the Manchester area which has been the source of much train delay on rail services across the whole north of England since late 2017.
“The consultation will inform decisions to be made in Spring 2021 on potential changes to the passenger timetable that would be implemented from May 2022.
“Passengers have been experiencing poor performance to, from and through central Manchester for too long. The key objective of this work has been to find timetable-based solutions for making performance much better. Better performance in the Manchester area will have far reaching beneficial impacts across the north of England rail network.”
A closing date for comments on the consultation is March 10.
Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers has vowed to make representations to ministers, having already spoken to operator TranspennineExpress to seek assurances the currently curtailed service would extend back to the UK’s second airport once travel restrictions lift.
“The whole of the network is going to have to adapt as travel patterns change, but for Grimsby and Cleethorpes the direct link to the airport is very convenient - I’ve used it myself and it is very good.
“While a direct link to Manchester and Liverpool is very good, the vast majority of people in this area, and the intermediate stops this side of Doncaster will value the link with the airport in particular, avoiding the struggles with luggage that a change brings.
“I will study the document and speak to ministers about it.”
The document itself flags issues caused by luggage-carrying passengers who are less familiar with the stations and rail travel.
Adam Fowler, chief executive of transport-focused Hull & Humber Environment Forum, said: “The Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport rail service via Grimsby and Scunthorpe is an essential part of the region's transport infrastructure. It is vital that this direct service to Manchester Airport is retained to keep the area connected to the North's principal airport.”
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