Grand Central has announced that their train services are to resume later this month.
After a 4 month period of hibernation caused by the Coronavirus lockdown, services are to return to the operator's routes between Bradford Interchange and Kings Cross as well as services between Sunderland and Kings Cross.
From July 26th passengers can book for the two daily return services to Bradford and three services from Sunderland, with more services being added as demand increases.
Managing Director, Richard McClean, said: “In late March it became obvious to us we couldn't operate a viable rail service under the Government's lockdown rules. Social distancing and a ban on non-essential travel meant we had no option but to put our trains to bed and place the majority of our staff on furlough.
“Since that decision we have worked hard to plan every aspect of a safe, sustainable return and we can now see that the lockdown has eased to such a degree for us to begin a measured return to service from late July.”
“To be able to once again invite passengers to make seat reservations and buy tickets makes our return very real,” he said. “The values of the Grand Central you enjoyed before the lockdown, such as getting the basics right and caring for our customers and colleagues, are still very much here and we will uphold those values now while ensuring the absolute safety of our passengers and staff.
“We have stayed close to all of the work our fellow train operators have been doing and we're confident our approach will work for everyone. We've engaged in wide-reaching passenger surveys over the past couple of months and we've listened to you all on what you expect safe train travel to look like. If you buy your tickets on our website and provide your contact details, we'll be able to let you know the latest information you'll need for your journey.
“Grand Central started as just an idea 13 years ago and through the hard work of all our team we've become a vital service to communities overlooked by the bigger operators.
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I want to thank those passengers for their loyalty and I invite them to put their faith in Grand Central again as we return to their towns and cities”.
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I like Grand Central and the Class 180 Adelantes. Been on them few times up to York. Perhaps Grand Central should continue if they are to extend the franchise for say like 9-10 years and to add more extra trains (ie Class 222) with new services such as London KX-Harrogate and Scarborough (both via York).