NORTHERN Rail has defended proposed changes to its service which passengers have claimed will see a declined peak hour service between St Helens stations and Manchester.

Changes are to be implemented part of timetable alterations by Northern Rail, due to come into effect next month.

One commuter, John Cross, 41, who says he travels from St Helens Junction to Manchester each day says his travel options will be halved, claiming it leaves him "not able to work contracted hours".

John, a Co-operative bank worker, said: "New train timetables come in to effect in May that significantly change the trains scheduled at the main commuter times to and from St Helens Junction and many other stations on the line.

"In short - the number of commuter trains is being halved."

John says that from there being four different trains leaving the station for Manchester Victoria or Piccadilly between 7.34am and 8.32am, there will, from May 21, only be two between the same time period at 7.55am and 8.24am.

John says his return journey options have also been slashed by the changes.

"I will now have only one train that I can (get) to work and one that I can get home. And crucially, I will arrive at work at 9.05am and will have to leave at 4.45pm, thus not being able to work my contracted hours.

"These changes are affecting most of the stations between Manchester and Liverpool. Hundreds of people will be affected on a daily basis."

When asked about the changes by the Star, a spokesman for Northern said: “The rail industry is currently implementing one of the most significant changes to timetables since the Victoria era.

"These changes are designed to pave the way for future service improvements which, on the Northern network, will see the introduction of 2,000 extra services each week – all operated by brand new or fully refurbished trains.”

The spokesman added that the town would still have a "strong morning service to Manchester".

He said: “As part of the timetable changes St Helens Junction has retained a strong morning service in to Manchester. Between 6.45am and 8.30am there are still four trains which will get commuters to either Piccadilly or Victoria before 9am.

“The times of those services have changed however and many of the services will now arrive into Piccadilly rather than Victoria. We are therefore advising all customers to plan carefully from May 20 when the new timetables come into effect.”

Timetables can be found online at nationalrail.co.uk and will be available to download from the Northern website from Monday, May 7.