East Midlands Railway (EMR) said the new timetables, which come into force on Sunday, would add thousands of seats each day and allow more trains to stop at under-served stations.
However some passengers on the 07:11 weekday service from Matlock to Nottingham, which runs via Derby, said a decision to make the departure 30 minutes later would cause disruption to their commutes.
Passenger Jayne Judson said the change to the departure time would make it harder for commuters to get to work and for students to get to school and college on time.
Ms Judson, a college lecturer who regularly uses the 07:11 service, said: “It’s going to be half an hour later, which doesn’t sound too bad but what in effect it’s going to mean is that we get into Nottingham at 08:50 rather than 08:20.
“It’ll be a real rush to get to work. There are kids on the train that simply can’t get into schools and colleges early enough.”
Fellow passenger Christine Bradstreet, who uses the same service from Matlock to connect to a train to London in Derby, said she was equally concerned about the change.
“I’m not sure how well it’s been communicated to be honest. I read it in my village magazine but I fear a lot of people won’t know.
“I’m concerned that I might have to get up an hour earlier so as to not be late for my meeting that I go into London for,” she said.
Another passenger Emma-Jayne Shimwell said the change would also make it harder for her to get to work.
“On a Tuesday we’ve got a team meeting and we have to be there, so I’m going to have to get the 06:20 train to be there.
“I think people will turn up next week and discover the train they’ve been used to taking until now runs half an hour later,” she said.
Will Rogers, managing director of East Midlands Railway, said he was proud of the hours his staff had spent creating the new timetable, which will mean two services will run an hour between Derby and Lincoln for the first time.
“This is a very significant change… it’ll provide a real boost to the local economy.
“We’re improving capacity, connectivity and performance as well, the winners are the customers, with additional calls at stations between Nottingham and Lincoln,” he said.
Elsewhere, Attenborough will have an hourly service to and from Derby, and passengers at Derby will see bolstered connections to and from Crewe and Birmingham, with Spondon, Radcliffe and Carlton also seeing more services.
An EMR spokesperson added: “The timetable delivers a range of improvements to services across Derbyshire and the wider East Midlands, supporting long-term regional growth and providing estimated economic benefits of £2.4m each year.
“The 07:11 Matlock-Derby service is not being withdrawn; it is retimed by 30 minutes to help us provide a more consistent hourly timetable.
“We recognise that some customers will need to adjust, and we apologise for this.”
