October 22, 2010 9.01 am This story is over 176 months old

New direct London trains coming in 2011

Finally: New direct weekend services from Lincoln to London will be added by East Coast from May 2011.

East Coast will add a new direct weekend service between Lincoln and London in May 2011, as part of changes to the operator’s Eureka! timetable.

Starting May 22, there will be a direct morning train between Lincoln and London on Saturday, and a return direct train in the evenings on both Saturday and Sunday.

There is currently no direct weekend service between Lincoln and London, and plans for extra weekday direct trains were scrapped earlier in the year.

East Coast Chairman, Elaine Holt, said the new service will serve along the current direct trains to London, which depart once a weekday, each way.

She claims this “will bring more services, more than three million extra seats per year, and faster typical journeys to the East Coast route.”

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney says that his campaigning, along with various organisations in Lincoln, led to changes in East Coast’s timetable.

“I learnt of this increase in service at a recent meeting with senior East Coast managers,” the Conservative MP said.

“While I am disappointed there is still only one direct service each way on weekdays, at least progress is now being made towards the long-term aim of quick, direct services being a regular part of the timetable.

“The case that I and the various business groups, agencies and local councils have made for a number of years for more direct services between the city and the capital is starting to bare fruit.”

“We will continue to work with the local MP, local authorities, the business community and other stakeholders to make a success of this exciting new addition to the East Coast route,” East Coast’s Holt added.

As a result of Wednesday’s spending review, Department for Transport figures suggest the cost of regulated train fares will rise by 10% in real terms over the next four years, as government subsidies are slashed.

Photo: Carl Spencer