SearchLeaf Fall Timetable Changes - Autumn 2021
Millions of trees grow alongside the railway, dropping thousands of tonnes of leaves onto the tracks throughout the Autumn season.
We love our trees as they are good for the environment. But leaves on the line can cause train delays by sticking to damp rails. Passing trains compress them into a thin black layer on the rail which, much like black ice on the roads, will affect train braking and acceleration.
For everyone's safety this means train drivers must slow down earlier for stations and signals to avoid overshooting them. They must also accelerate more gently to avoid wheel spin. The overall effect can be an increase to your journey time.
To avoid unexpected delays to your journey, the train companies affected will adjust their timetables in the Autumn months to allow for the effects of leaf fall on their worst affected lines.
To find out whether your journey will be affected, please select the train operating company you will be travelling with from the table below.
Avanti West Coast
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
c2c
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.
Caledonian Sleeper
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.
Chiltern Railways
-
Aylesbury to London Marylebone via Amersham line
During leaf fall season, trains running to London on the Aylesbury - London via Amersham line will depart a few minutes earlier than usual. -
Kidderminster - Birmingham - High Wycombe - London Marylebone line
Stratford - Banbury to London Marylebone line
Oxford - Bicester Village to London Marylebone line
Aylesbury to London Marylebone via Princes Risborough line
Trains running on the above lines may arrive at their final destination a few minutes later than scheduled.
Full timetables can be viewed and downloaded here.
Heathrow Express
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.
Island Line
At the time of compiling this information, Island Line trains are being replaced by buses until 31 October.
LNER
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
London Overground
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.
Lumo
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.
Merseyrail
Leaf fall changes will be contained in Merseyrail's Covid timetables..
Northern
The following lines will be affected by leaf fall timetable changes:
- Clitheroe to Manchester
- Buxton and Hazel Grove to Manchester
- Rose Hill and New Mills to Manchester
Please check your journey before you travel.
ScotRail
A small number of early morning and evening timetable changes will be made on some routes (including East Kilbride, Paisley Canal, Dalmuir and Glenrothes). Please check your journey before you travel.
Tree felling work will be taking place this autumn at Dalgety Bay to improve the poor train performance there due to leaf fall. Details of this improvement project, and the ecological work taking place, can be found on Network Rail's website here.
Southeastern
Southeastern are making some small timetable changes this autumn to keep trains running on time.
From 10 October 2021, some morning trains will leave a few minutes earlier. Evening trains will leave London at the same time as usual, but some will arrive at stations along their route a few minutes later. Please continue to check your train before you travel using our Journey Planner.
On days when we expect the weather to be at its worst, some off-peak weekday services will leave earlier or call less frequently at a small number of metro stations.
South Western Railway
South Western Railway's new leaf fall timetable started on Monday 13 September 2021. Some train times have changed with some trains leaving earlier than on the previous timetable. Please remember to check your journey before you travel.
Last updated: 24 October 2021
