Northern is to introduce 100 extra services every weekday as part of its new timetable for the North West of England.

The new timetable, which comes into force on Sunday 14 December, means new times for 1300 services across the North West of England, more trains and an improved frequency of services on some routes.

Highlights include:

• 100 extra services every weekday compared to the current timetable
• more services for passengers on the Hope Valley line travelling between New Mills Central and Manchester
• a new hourly service for all stations between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport
• the extension of the current Manchester - Macclesfield to Stoke service opening up new journey opportunities for passengers travelling to / from Congleton, Kidsgrove and Stoke
• a new semi-fast service between Manchester and Bradford
• new journey opportunities between Manchester and Leeds via Brighouse and Dewsbury
• changes to services between Manchester and Blackpool North, which means an increase to two trains every hour between Manchester and Preston; the changes should also improve reliability of services
• a half hourly off-peak service Alderley Edge - Manchester
• a new peak-time through service between Manchester Airport and Southport

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern said: “We are delighted to be providing an improved service for our passengers in Greater Manchester. These changes are part of our entirely new timetable for the North West of England, which means new times for 1300 of our daily services.”

The new timetables and more information about services are available from staffed stations or by visiting www.northernrail.org/travel/timetables.