Coronavirus: Grand Central suspends rail services after lockdown

The firm had previously been running a reduced timetable to support key workers

A train firm has suspended all its services because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

Grand Central, which connects London's King's Cross with Yorkshire and the north east, ran its last trains earlier.

The firm said it had been running a reduced timetable "in order to keep key workers moving".

But it came with the costs of running a service "while bringing no ticket revenue".

"This situation is unsustainable and, following several days of discussion with the Department for Transport (DfT), we have no alternative but to suspend our services," managing director Richard McClean said.

"People who absolutely need to travel, in line with government restrictions, can use their Grand Central ticket to travel on other train companies' services."

A Department for Transport spokesman said that in line with its support for all businesses it would work with the firm to "return to the network" when the lockdown was lifted.

"Grand Central has decided to suspend services and hibernate the company to protect their financial viability during this time of reduced passenger numbers," he added.

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On Sunday, Hull Trains said it had axed all its services because of the "unprecedented circumstances" created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm said passenger numbers had "dropped significantly" since the government lockdown came into force.

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