Hull Trains services to London stopped for second time

A train company is suspending its daily services to London for the second time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hull Trains will stop its four services a day to and from the capital on 5 November.

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

The RMT union called on the government to provide financial support to the firm which operates on an "open access" basis.

The company said "ticket sales are central to Hull Trains' income stream" and added that unlike services run under a franchise, it did not receive additional financial support from the government given to other rail operators during the previous lockdown.

Hull Trains managing director Louise Cheeseman said: "Sadly we are reluctantly suspending all our rail services in response to the national lockdown.

"This is the second time we have temporarily suspended services and the decision has been made to safeguard the future of the business.

"It would be foolhardy of us to run trains when people are being asked to stay at home and our business isn't in a position to be generating an income from passengers buying train tickets."

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.

The RMT described open access operators as the "poor relation in terms of support for the rail sector, denied the guaranteed financial support underpinning the franchise holders, leaving staff living on a knife edge with no security."

The union is backing a debate in parliament on more support for the rail industry.

The Department for Transport said: "We recognise the important role that Britain's open access rail services play in the communities they serve and hope to see them return to normal as soon as is possible.

"We will continue to work closely with these companies during this difficult period."

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