London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has announced that new Azuma trains will be introduced between Huddersfield and London King's Cross from May.
From Monday 18th May 2020, a daily weekday service in each direction will be LNER's first service between the market town and the capital.
The new train service will also connect Dewsbury directly with London King's Cross, after more than a generation of no direct services between Huddersfield and London.
The arrival of these new services will be in conjunction with the first anniversary of LNER's introduction of the Azuma trains on the East Coast Mainline.
The new southbound service will depart from Huddersfield at 05:50 and Dewsbury at 06:01. The Azuma service will arrive in Leeds at 06:16, where it will couple to another five-car Azuma to form the 06:40 Leeds to London King's Cross service, which will arrive in the capital at 08:51.
The evening northbound service will depart from London King's Cross at 18:03 and will be formed of two five-car Azuma trains, which will split at Leeds, with one train continuing to Skipton and the other to Dewsbury, arriving at 20:45 and then Huddersfield at 20:58.
Azuma trains will run using overhead electric wires between London and Leeds. The trains will then switch to diesel mode for the 17 miles to Huddersfield.
After departing from Huddersfield, the trains will call at Dewsbury, Leeds, Wakefield Westgate, Doncaster, Newark Northgate and London King's Cross.
What did the officials say?
David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said:
“The services will open up economic benefits for Huddersfield and the surrounding area. Better transport links for Huddersfield will create more opportunities for business travel and people wishing to make direct journeys between the capital and the West Yorkshire town, famous for its industrial past and proud textiles heritage.
“Our Azuma trains are revolutionising the customer experience for our passengers. They offer greater reliability, levels of comfort and accessibility, as well as more seats, improved WiFi, with first class onboard catering.”
Colne Valley Conservative MP, Jason McCartney, said:
“I'm delighted that LNER is delivering the first direct rail service between Huddersfield and London since the 1960s. This is a major boost for businesses, schools, colleges and all local residents in Huddersfield and the Colne Valley who'll now be able to use this direct service and continue the growth of the Northern Powerhouse.”
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Yeah… about that….
Sounding good.
Brilliant news. Will LNER introduce new direct services to Harrogate, Scarborough, Hartlepool, Whitby, Middlesborough and Redcar.