THE number of trains running between Warrington and Manchester is set to be cut.

Northern Rail has published draft timetables due to be implemented from December next year, following a public consultation as part of the Government’s Manchester Recovery Task Force.

Three options for alterations to services had been proposed initially.

One would have seen Warrington Bank Quay lose its direct connections to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, with all Manchester-bound services from the station instead travelling to Manchester Victoria before continuing onwards to Stalybridge.

READ MORE > Speed bumps could be added to Warrington road

The second and third options would have seen direct routes from Warrington Central, Warrington West and Birchwood to Manchester Airport scrapped.

Meanwhile, the third proposal would have also resulted in the loss of Bank Quay Station’s link to Manchester Airport and trains to North Wales.

And smaller stations in the town would have lost direct connections to either Liverpool or Manchester under options B and C.

Indicative timetables as part of the MRTF project have now been published.

While Padgate Station’s direct link to Liverpool and Manchester will remain, Warrington Central and Birchwood have lost one train per hour to and from Manchester.

But Bank Quay has kept its links to North Wales, as well as Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.

A Northern Rail spokesman said: “The MRTF was set up in January 2020 to develop and deliver solutions that improve the reliability of rail services for passengers.

“The MRTF was attended by a range of organisations, including the Department for Transport, Transport for the North, train operators and Transport for Greater Manchester amongst others.

“The objective for the MRTF was to recast the rail timetable to address some of the structural issues around the pre-Covid timetable and provide reliable performance to passengers while different infrastructure solutions, with longer lead times, were planned, and delivered.

“The public consultation, which ran from January to March 2021, has been used to help inform further work on the options.

“This led to a revised recommended timetable structure being developed.

“Following that consultation, consideration of the comments received and the recommendation of the MRTF – and endorsed by the TFN Rail North Committee – Northern and TransPennine Express have produced indicative timetables which have now been published.

“These timetables are based on the MRTF’s recommended approach and are due to be introduced during December 2022.”