Commuters getting on the fast track

First Capital Connect is putting into service eight extra train carriages on the Great Northern Route from December 14. This will create new peak services and have the knock-on effect of removing station stops from some other services, speeding up their

First Capital Connect is putting into service eight extra train carriages on the Great Northern Route from December 14.

This will create new peak services and have the knock-on effect of removing station stops from some other services, speeding up their journey times and further reducing overcrowding.

This is part of the December timetable change which I urge your readers to examine.

The new timetable is available at stations and can be downloaded from www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk, from the heading "What's new".

The extra carriages will be used to introduce new peak services between Royston and King's Cross.

These will, in the most part, pick up station stops which will be removed from some of our busiest services between Stevenage and Cambridge.

As a result, seats will be freed up on these busy services and journey times will be reduced.

For example, the overcrowded 18:15 King's Cross-Ely service will be less crowded and seven minutes quicker, because the intermediate station stops at Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden and Royston will be transferred to a new 18:17 King's Cross-Royston service.

The effect of these changes is to bring forward part of the proposed May 2009 Peterborough and Cambridge Capacity Scheme.

The full timetable for the scheme, which was subject to consultation in 2007, will be delivered in May 2009 and will reflect the timetable produced following the consultation process.

Roger Perkins

Communications Manager

First Capital Connect