Hull Trains to resume services next month
‘CONFIDENT AND HOPEFUL’: Louise Cheeseman, managing director of Hull Trains
Hull Trains will resume services on April 12 with a plan to “build the business back up”, the operator has said.
The team is preparing to welcome passengers back onboard its Paragon trains as the open access operator gets ready to relaunch a limited timetable.
The announcement comes as the company revealed it had to make a quarter of its staff redundant as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hull Trains’ services were temporarily suspended for the third time on January 9 when the Government announced a third lengthy national lockdown due to Covid.
Louise Cheeseman, managing director of Hull Trains, has drawn up a strategy to build the business back up as the economy begins to re-open.
She said: “We are really pleased to be able to announce a return date and we’re looking forward to welcoming passengers safely on board from April.
“We are returning with a reduced timetable at this stage while we monitor customer demand and steadily build the business back up. Now we have a roadmap out of lockdown, I’m really confident that more people will start to travel by rail again.
“It’s been a very challenging time for the industry and as an open access operator we have had to hibernate the business three times. This has impacted on our workforce and sadly, it was necessary to make 26 per cent of colleagues redundant.
“We have had to make other challenging cost saving decisions to protect the long-term future of the business and safeguard as many roles as possible.
“The focus of the last twelve months has been on making sure we have a strong foundation to return given that we will play a role in stabilizing the region’s economy after the pandemic.
“I’m excited and hopeful about our return and want to thank our stakeholders and customers for their ongoing support. As soon as tickets are on sale for travel, we will be announcing this on our website.”
For more information visit www.hulltrains.co.uk and social media channels Twitter: @Hull_Trains, and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HullTrains/.