[hstudent]

North Transpennine trains can be very crowded. The busiest section (on a normal day) is said to be Leeds to Huddersfield, followed closely by Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly. If there was a Stockport to Leeds service running via the Stockport to Stalybridge line calling at Reddish South, Denton, Guide Bridge, Stalybridge and Huddersfield it probably would take around the same sort of time as going between Stockport and Leeds via Manchester. However, for some people who have to change trains at Piccadilly, changing at Stockport or Guide Bridge instead would probably save them time as well as reducing overcrowding and giving some stations a proper service. I'm sure Northern would be happy to not have to run the weekly Stockport to Stalybridge service if Transpennine Express wanted to run that service.

Currently, especially in the summer, trains between Blackpool and Manchester and beyond can get very crowded. A problem seems to be that many people travelling north, starting south of Manchester and going to Blackpool change at Stockport. There is only one direct train an hour between Stockport and Blackpool, which has usually originated from Buxton which is already a busy route. Using a larger train on this service would help, but having two trains an hour from Stockport would be much better. If a second train was to run between Stockport and Blackpool then it probably would be best if some of the more lightly used stations like Blackrod and Layton get the same frequency of service as they do currently but all trains to Blackpool could call at around the same number of stations to keep them at equal intervals from most stations.

One final suggestion is currently a delay to the local Manchester Oxford Rd to Liverpool service could easily result in either the Liverpool to Scarborough or Liverpool to Norwich service being delayed as a consequence. Why don't Northern run a Liverpool to Warrington Central and Warrington Central to Manchester Piccadilly service instead? It must be possible to turn trains around at Warrington Central based on what trains do first thing in the morning and late at night. Also, I caught a train from Glazebrook a couple of months ago a number of people, including myself, transferred to the Liverpool to Scarborough service at Manchester Oxford Rd and alighted at Manchester Piccadilly.