Leaf Fall Timetable Changes: Autumn 2024

There are millions of trees next to the railway in Britain and, every autumn, thousands of tonnes of leaves fall onto the tracks. Windy conditions can cause heavy leaf-fall in a short space of time and rain means they are more likely to stick to the rails. When trains pass over leaves, the heat and weight of the trains bake them into a thin, slippery layer on the rail. This is equivalent to black ice on the roads.

How are trains affected?

Slippery rails make it hard for trains to accelerate and brake effectively. Safety is our priority, so when this happens, drivers have to pull out of stations more slowly and brake much earlier for stations and signals to make sure they stop in time. This can lead to longer journey times and delays. 

What we do about it – autumn timetables

In areas with very heavy leaf-fall some train operators publish special autumn timetables with revised journey timings. These timetables allow extra time for train drivers to drive more cautiously than at other times of the year, so they can get you to where they need to go safely and reliably. Leaf-fall timetables operate from late September / early October until Saturday 14 December 2024 (unless stated otherwise below).

The following leaf-fall timetable changes have been announced for autumn 2024:

Information will be updated throughout September 2024, when the affected train companies announce details of any changes.

Avanti West Coast

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

c2c

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Caledonian Sleeper

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Chiltern Railways

From Monday 30 September onwards, trains travelling southbound from Aylesbury Vale Parkway / Aylesbury towards London Marylebone on the route via Amersham (the Metropolitan line route) are timed to leave stations up to three minutes earlier until leaving Rickmansworth. This is due to London Underground imposing a 40mph speed restriction from Amersham to Rickmansworth for safety reasons.

Trains travelling north on the route via Amersham, and on the other Chiltern Railways routes, are unaffected by leaf fall changes.

CrossCountry 

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

East Midlands Railway

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made, with the exception of Swinderby station which is expected to have a reduced service from the end of October (to be confirmed).

Elizabeth line

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Gatwick Express

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Grand Central

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Great Northern

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Great Western Railway (GWR)

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Greater Anglia

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Heathrow Express

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Hull Trains

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Island Line

Significant improvement work will be taking place on the Island Line during the autumn. More details can be found on our engineering work page.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

London Northwestern Railway

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

London Overground

Some London Overground trains will arrive at their destination 2-3 minutes later than normal. You can check your journey in Journey Planners.

Lumo

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Merseyrail

Train times on the lines to and from Ellesmere Port and Chester will change from Saturday 12 October onwards.

Northern

Leaf fall timetables will operate on the following Northern routes from Monday 7 October until Saturday 14 December:

• Newcastle – Carlisle

• Blackpool / Preston – Colne

• Manchester Victoria – Clitheroe

• Manchester Piccadilly – Buxton

• Sheffield – Huddersfield

All timings are in journey planners, and the leaf fall versions of the timetable are available on the Northern website.

ScotRail

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

South Western Railway

Between Sunday 22 September and Saturday 14 December the South Western Railway autumn timetable will operate, with minor changes to train times as we enter leaf fall season.

Train times on the following routes will see minor changes from Sunday 22 September:

• Aldershot - London Waterloo via Camberley

• Alton - London Waterloo

• Basingstoke - London Waterloo (stopping services)

• Dorking - London Waterloo

• Exeter St Davids / Salisbury - London Waterloo

• Farnham - London Waterloo

• Guildford - London Waterloo via Bookham, and via Cobham & Stoke D’Abernon

• Portsmouth Harbour - London Waterloo via Guildford

• Southampton - Portsmouth via Netley

• Shepperton - London Waterloo

• Weymouth / Poole / Bournemouth - London Waterloo

• Windsor & Eton Riverside - London Waterloo

In most cases, trains will depart their origin stations one minute earlier than usual, for example, the 07:48 service from Dorking to London Waterloo will depart at 07:47.

A small number of train times will change by up to five minutes, for example, the 05:55 service from Weymouth to London Waterloo will depart at 05:50.

Some first trains of the day will also depart earlier than normal. For example, the 04:54 service from Basingstoke to Woking will depart at the earlier time of 04:51.

You can check your journey in Journey Planners, and timetables are available to download from the South Western Railway website.

Southeastern

A number of services will be retimed, and some morning trains will depart a few minutes earlier than currently. You can check your train times in Journey Planners.

Southern

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Stansted Express

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

Thameslink

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

TransPennine Express

No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced.

Transport for Wales

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.

West Midlands Railway

No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.