COMMUTERS on the troubled York to Scarborough line may benefit from changes set to be made to train timetables in the Manchester area, the local MP has said.

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said that the train operator TransPennine Express has agreed to make amendments to services in the Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds areas as part of timetable changes from December 9.

Mr Hollinrake said: “I welcome the improvements that TransPennine Express is planning to introduce to its services from December following delays and cancellations throughout the summer.

“I have made a number of representations to the train operator and secured a Westminster Hall debate on the issue following a series of complaints from frustrated passengers.

“These changes are mainly focussed in the Manchester and West Yorkshire area, but I am hopeful that more efficient services to the west of Leeds will have a positive knock on effect on services going towards Scarborough.”

During the Westminster debate last week, Mr Hollinrake said: “In this day and age, people are entitled to expect a reliable service. It is not unreasonable to think that, if someone plans to take a scheduled train on a specific date at a specific time, it will be there and they will not be hanging around for hours on end waiting.”

And though he said that reliability was up since May to around 80 per cent, he added: “To put the situation in context, over a three-month period in the summer of 2017 in my constituency, six trains were cancelled at Malton. This year, over the same period, 56 trains were cancelled.

“During that period in 2017, 110 trains between Leeds and Scarborough were more than nine minutes late. This year, there were more than four times as many - a total of 479 delayed trains.”

Announcing the amendments, TransPennine said: “We are confident these changes will provide customers with a more resilient and reliable service.

“We will continue to closely monitor performance and assess the impact and effectiveness of these changes and consider, particularly in light of the performance of services in and around Manchester, whether further amendments will be required to improve train service performance.

“We would also like to apologise again to all customers who have been affected by any delays or cancellations since the May 2018 timetable was introduced.”

There are several compensation schemes available online.