LNER train drivers call off months of weekend strikesLNER train drivers to strike at weekends for three monthsLNER to offer free period products on Harrogate trains

LNER has become the UK’s first train operator to offer free sanitary products onboard its trains.

The firm, which operates services between Harrogate and London King’s Cross, said in a statement today it will introduce the scheme across its entire fleet.

Passengers can request a ‘package for a friend’ directly from an LNER team member onboard, or by scanning the catering service QR code next to their seat. A team member will then “discreetly” deliver the products to seats, LNER added.

The move comes after a survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of LNER, found 22% of people have experienced a time when they, or someone they are with, needed sanitary products but could not access them.

LNER said it first introduced the scheme at London King’s Cross station after recognising “everyone should have access to period care products when they need them”, and has now partnered with organic period product company TOTM to expand the delivery.

Gill McKay, an on-train delivery manager at LNER, said:

“Customer feedback, supported by research, highlighted the upset that can be experienced by not having access to period products.

“We believe everyone should be able to travel with confidence and in comfort and providing free, environmentally friendly products to anyone who needs them is just one way we can provide support, help the planet and break down barriers and stigma.”

Kiley Yale, head of sales at TOTM, added:

“We are really excited to be working with LNER to champion period comfort, wellbeing and dignity across their trains, stations and offices.”

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No Harrogate to London trains over next two weekends

There will be no trains running between Harrogate and London King’s Cross over the next two weekends.

It comes after Northern Rail announced four days of engineering work on the billion-pound East Coast Digital Programme.

LNER, which runs between London King’s Cross and the north east, is among the lines affected.

It will be operating a reduced service starting and terminating at Grantham, with hourly trains running between Leeds and Grantham over the two weekends.

From Grantham, people can get a rail replacement bus to Corby, where they will connect with other operators’ services to and from London St Pancras.

The disruption will be in place from Saturday, January 6 to Sunday, January 7, and Saturday, January 13, to Sunday, January 14.

LNER said there are no planned changes to the regular weekday schedule.

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Business Breakfast: LNER orders cleaner new trains

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London North Eastern Railway (LNER), the train operator that runs services between Harrogate, Leeds and York, has named Spanish company CAF as the successful bidder to deliver a fleet of 10 new tri-mode trains.  

The trains will be able to operate in electric, battery or diesel mode, and can help cut emissions and particulates, and lower maintenance and operating costs. 

Battery power reduces the need to use diesel traction in areas such as the Harrogate district, where overhead powerlines are not available. It also reduces noise and vibration pollution, resulting in less disruption for people living near the tracks. 

David Horne, managing director at LNER, said:  

“Successfully delivering this new fleet is an integral part of LNER’s business plan. Our focus is ensuring we create a fleet that truly matches the needs of all our customers, with clear targets on setting new standards for comfort, accessibility, and exceptional customer service.” 

The new trains will be added to LNER’s fleet of 65 Azuma trains and will keep the company on track to reduce its emissions by 67 per cent by 2035 and be net zero by 2045.

LNER operates services between London and Edinburgh on the east coast mainline, as well as connected routes to Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Middlesbrough, Bradford, Skipton, Harrogate, Hull and Lincoln.

Airport cruises towards net zero

The Harrogate district’s local airport has been awarded a five-star rating by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.

Leeds Bradford Airport achieved a score of 95% – its highest to date – increasing its rating by 79% since taking part for the first time in 2018.

An independent organisation, GRESB provides validated environmental, social and governance data for property and infrastructure businesses globally. To achieve a rating, businesses must complete an online assessment by providing raw monitoring data, as well as submitting evidence, in the form of certificates, policies and procedures.

Tracey Stevenson, sustainability manager at Leeds Bradford Airport, said:

“We are so proud to have seen an improvement to our GRESB score again this year. To rank second out of 10 UK airports is just a testament to how hard we strive year after year to keep improving.

“We see GRESB as a really valuable tool which not only allows us to benchmark our practises against other businesses but to uncover ways that we can improve processes to make the airport a great place for our colleagues and customers.”

Since 2018, LBA has improved energy efficiency both inside the terminal and out on the airfield, reduced the carbon emissions it produces directly by 67%. All electricity currently supplied to the airport is from 100% renewables.

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Leeds Bradford Airport re-opens but storm continues to disrupt rail services

Leeds Bradford Airport has re-opened after a plane veered off the runway in yesterday’s storm Babet.

The TUI Airways flight from Corfu went off the runway and onto the grass after landing at around 1.53pm in heavy rain. None of the  195 passengers and crew were injured.

The LBA team said it and its partners had worked tirelessly throughout the night in torrential conditions to recover the aircraft in order to safely reopen the runway and airport.

The airport put out this statement at 12.30 today.:

Passengers travelling should contact their airline to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport as there will be continuing disruption.

We understand the significant disruption and inconvenience for passengers departing for their holidays and returning home. We are grateful for the patience and understanding our passengers and business partners have shown during this difficult time.

It thanked staff and passengers for their patience:

We want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in supporting the effort dealing with the incident, disruption and recovery of the aircraft in exceptionally difficult conditions.

Once again, we would like to thank our passengers for their cooperation and understanding during this challenging period.

LNER warns people not to travel

LNER meanwhile, has warned rail passengers not to travel today as the severe weather continues to cause major disruption to services.

In a statement LNER said:

Due to ongoing flooding of the route between Doncaster and Wakefield, speed restrictions in Scotland and trains and crews being out of position following yesterday’s extensive disruption, an extremely limited service is in operation and services may be subject to short-notice cancellation.

There are no LNER services operating north of Edinburgh. Due to road closures, rail replacement is not available.  Other train operators are also subject to disruption.

Tickets will be valid for travel between Monday 23 October and Friday 27 October 2023 or fee free refunds will be possible from the original point of purchase.

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Harrogate passengers to get more seats on direct London trains

London North Eastern Railway is to introduce longer trains on some of its direct services between Harrogate and London on Sundays.

Five of the current five-carriage Sunday trains will be upgraded to nine or 10-carriage trains, meaning more seats for passengers.

LNER announced the news today as part of a series of changes in response to a 30% increase in demand for Sunday leisure travellers since 2019.

The company will also introduce three additional Sunday services — two between Leeds and London King’s Cross and one between Doncaster and London.

Although these will not stop at Harrogate they will benefit people who want to get direct London trains from Leeds and Doncaster.

The new services and longer trains will start in December this year.

Brian Dunsby, leader of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said:

“This is a great testament to the popularity of the direct Harrogate to London services and the increasing demand for travel on Sundays.

“We are also aware that LNER are currently planning to reschedule their east coast mainline services in December 2024 so we are hopeful for gaining an earlier morning service from Harrogate to King’s Cross and a later evening return to Harrogate.”

David Horne, managing director at LNER, said its plans “will provide more than 3,000 extra seats from December”.

Rail minister Huw Merriman said travel patterns had changed since the pandemic and this was “a real win for passengers”.

Which services are affected?

Services which will become 10 carriage Azuma services:

Northbound

  • The 09:05 London King’s Cross to Harrogate
  • The 17:05 London King’s Cross to Harrogate

These two services will no longer be able to call at Horsforth due to the platform length.

Southbound

Services which will become nine-carriage Azuma services:

Northbound

  • The 11:03 London King’s Cross to Harrogate
  • The 15:36 Harrogate to London King’s Cross

People wanting to get to London earlier on a Sunday by train and can get to Leeds will be able to do so. The 08:05 on Sundays from Leeds to London King’s Cross will no longer call at Retford, Newark Northgate and Grantham resulting in a shorter journey time.

The service will arrive at London King’s Cross at 10.18 – 19 minutes earlier than before.

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Stray Views: Let’s not alienate young people using cycle paths in Harrogate woods

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

This is an email in full support of the creative youths that have developed their own entertainment in the woods. (Extensive action’ pledged to tackle teen bike track in Harrogate woods). 

We cannot speak for other users as the ‘anonymous local resident’ has so thoughtfully done, however, the track is not spoiling the space for my husband and I and we do not see this as ‘wanton vandalism’. The ramps and holes have been made from fallen trees, existing rocks and dirt tracks so we do not see where damage to flora and fauna has been made.

With regards to littering this is in fact a group of adults who utilise the woods for drinking at night so perhaps policing during the night would be better. Whomever has decided in their wisdom to remove all bins from the woodland and immediate area in favour of the tardis style bin some distance away, you can expect littering to increase not decrease because of this crazy decision.

In addition, the youths have every right to enjoy the green space along with the rest of us and have been nothing but polite to me and my husband when we walk our dog, waiting for us to pass and warning their friends to wait until the dog has walked by before they cycle, which we have thanked them for.

Let’s not ostracise the next generation, after all it is them we are relying on to save the planet, so perhaps some relationship building between the ‘anonymous’ local resident and the youths would be useful and please, we ask that the rest of us ‘local residents’ are not tarred with the same bitter brush.

Denise Webber, Harrogate

Nightmare train journey

Diabolical journey on the hottest day of the year in a non air conditioned carriage! No electricity for phones/laptops etc! If it had been at night presumably we would have been in the dark!

Everyone had to squash in the next carriage to get cool.

This is not the first time this has happened either.

Ann FitzGerald, Starbeck

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Praise for police memorial

May I add my voice to the commendations re the police memorial recently installed (Memorial stone unveiled in honour of murdered Harrogate police officer). The men and women who are prepared to stand up in situations where others run away should be remembered and honoured.

Can I also commend the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Derbyshire. It is a huge piece of land lovingly cared for and contains not only memorials to military losses, but Lifeboat crews, Ambulance service men and women, and yes a whole avenue of memorials to the police officers who have given their lives for us.

Their area of the arboretum is known as “The Beat.” Well worth a visit.

William Thompson, Park House Green, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate set to get earlier and later direct London trains

Harrogate is on track to get a direct train to London departing an hour earlier than the current first service of the day.

David Flesher, commercial director at LNER, told businesses last night the company wanted the first direct train to leave Harrogate at 6.35am, rather than the current 7.37am.

It would enable commuters to arrive at King’s Cross in the capital at 9.30am rather than the current 10.30am.

People travelling back to Harrogate from London would also benefit from a later last direct service home, Mr Flesher told Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting, under plans being formulated.

He said the final train would depart an hour later than the current 5.33pm service.

However, the changes are not due to be implemented until the end of next year.

Mr Flesher, who lives in Harrogate, told the meeting the number of customers using the Harrogate line had risen by 15% this year. He added:

“We want to bring earlier and later London services from Harrogate next year.”

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, who organised the guest speakers at last night’s transport-themed chamber meeting, asked Mr Flesher what time the new services would be scheduled for.

Mr Flesher gave the details and said the earlier and later services had been “long-awaited”. He added:

“That will get people into London at a much more helpful and sensible time in the morning.”

A LNER spokesperson contacted the Stray Ferret after the article was first published to say:

“These are ambitions that are being explored with timings subject to change. An hour earlier southbound is the ambition with a new timetable. With reference to the northbound return train in particular, this is in discussion but very much our ambition.”

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Business Breakfast: Transport leaders to reveal plans for Harrogate

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is an after work drinks event on Thursday, August 31 at The West Park Hotel in Harrogate between 5-7pm. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Prominent local transport leaders will discuss their future plans with Harrogate businesses next week.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting on September 11 includes key speakers from the bus, rail and aviation sectors.

They include Henri Rohard, managing director of Harrogate Bus Company, Tony Baxter, regional director east at rail operator Northern, David Flesher, commercial director of LNER and Vincent Hodder, chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport. 

A chamber spokesman said:

“Harrogate businesses rely on dependable transport, and so this event is an invaluable opportunity for members to ask travel-related questions to experts.”

The event at the Cedar Court Hotel begins with networking at 5.30 pm and ends at 8pm. You can book a spot to attend here.

 

Harrogate agency recognised by World Land Trust

The environmental charity World Land Trust has recognised a Harrogate research agency as a valued and significant supporter

The agency, which was established by Jennifer Brennan and Clare Vokes in 2019, donates a percentage of its annual turnover to the trust.

Its contribution was mentioned in the charity’s latest annual report.

Ms Brennan said:

“Even if you’re too busy running your business, there are easy steps you can take, like supporting organisations like the World Land Trust to protect biodiverse habitat and help offset your organisation’s carbon footprint. If businesses act collectively, we can make a difference.”

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