Trains

Quite predictably, things didn't quite go to plan on the first day of the new timetables for the West Coast mainline.

Teething problems will happen, and I just think it was bad luck that caused a train to break down on the same day.

It's all very well having a faster, better timetable - but unfortunately Macclesfield seems to have got to raw end of the deal. There are now only 3 services an hour to Manchester, and we have lost services that stopped elsewhere. The only (positive?) change is that the Northern Rail service now continues south from Macclesfield which will be exciting if you fancy getting a train to Congelton or Kidsgrove.

This is a shame - because rail was our best transport link (considering we're 30-40 mins from the motorway).

What is a real pain for me is that there's no longer a direct service from Macclesfield to Milton Keynes. This is a journey I do often, and I now have to change at Stoke. The timetable has been scheduled intelligently, and I should only have to wait 8 mins extra at Stoke - but I'm sure this is going to cause chaos if the first train is delayed.

We'll just wait and see how it all works out.