CHANGES TO some of the Bradford district’s rail timetables have been criticised by councillors.

The new timetables come into effect on Sunday, December 9, and services from Bradford Interchange to York are set to be drastically curtailed with fewer trains going to the commuter and visitor attraction and stations east of Leeds.

Many trains from Low Moor and the Interchange will terminate at Leeds instead.

Services stopping at the Interchange station between Selby and Manchester Victoria are also being cut.

Train services on the Airedale, Wharfedale and Calderdale lines look to have minimal changes.

Responding to the publication of timetables removing through services between stations in east Leeds and destinations including Bradford and Halifax, Cllr Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council and member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority said: “I am dismayed by both the removal of these services and the apparent lack of consultation around this decision, which will inconvenience hundreds of passengers a day.

“We are urgently taking this issue up with Northern Rail and Transport for the North to make the case for the restoration of these services.

“Once again we are seeing decisions being taken by rail industry officials with little or no consideration of the impacts on passengers which, given we are still dealing with the impact of the calamitous timetable change in May, indicates lessons have not yet been learned.”

“It is vital that passengers and their representatives are given a stronger voice in the way rail services are operated in the North of England and I will be ensuring this, and the need for much greater transparency about operator performance, is at the centre of the Blake-Johnson review.”

Cllr Kim Groves, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “It is vital that we have local transport networks that enable everyone across West Yorkshire to have access to jobs and education.

“It would be disappointing to lose direct rail journeys between Halifax, Bradford, and East Leeds and it’s particularly annoying that the rail industry makes changes with no regard for the journeys people need to make.”

Cllr Blake is leading a review into the disruption to rail services in the North earlier this year with Rail Minister Jo Johnson.

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council leader, said: “The timetabling of trains across the North evidently just isn’t working. This is just the latest in a series of enforced changes which is going to impact on people’s journey to and from work. The timetabling fiasco is costing northern businesses over £1 million a day. It’s simply not good enough.”

A Northern spokesperson: “We always work with organisations and stakeholders to bring about a timetable that suits the needs of the region. These changes were consulted with all parties last year, and we are not aware of any concern being expressed with regard to the proposed changes.”

The Green Party, meanwhile, has renewed its calls to see Arriva stripped of Northern rail franchise as German rail giant reportedly seeks a government bail-out.

The party highlighted cancelled and delayed rush hour services into Leeds yesterday causing another morning of commuter misery. Between 7.45am and 9.30am, not one service on the Airedale Line was running on time.

Arriva was reported to be in talks with the government as months of disruption has resulted in a drastic reduction in the financial performance of the franchise.