Hull Trains services to London restart as lockdown ends

Direct services between Hull and London restart on Thursday

A train company is restarting daily services to London following the lifting of the national lockdown.

Hull Trains had suspended its daily services to London for the second time on 5 November due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The company previously shut down on 29 March and reopened with a reduced timetable on 21 August.

From Thursday it will offer services on its Paragon trains "on a limited timetable".

The firm said tickets were going on sale for journeys up to 3 January.

It will run two services southbound and northbound Monday to Friday, with three each Saturday and two each Sunday.

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Hull Trains managing director Louise Cheeseman said: "Tickets are selling quickly for the trains running in the lead-up to Christmas, so we strongly recommend that passengers plan ahead and pre-book a ticket before travelling to avoid disappointment.

"There are alterations to our normal timetables and engineering works are taking place at King's Cross.

"Our safety measures remain in place, which include socially distanced seats, a dedicated cleaner on every journey and our new live train tracker tool which lets people see how busy the train is real time before boarding."

Hull Trains is thought to be Britain's smallest train company with about 130 staff.

It started in 2000 and usually operates 92 direct services a week between Hull and London.