News Release
Contact: Adam
Fowler
Telephone;
(01482) 324223/07985297577
Where this is a will, there’s a rail!
Passenger
transport charity The City of Hull & Humber Environment Forum (CHEF) has
praised First Hull Trains for the way it responded to major travel disruption
at Hull this weekend.
Planned
engineering work meant London trains could not take the usual route via Selby. Instead take the usual diversionary route via
Goole to get to Doncaster. However, a major
landslip at Hatfield meant no trains were running between Goole and
Doncaster. Train passengers could have
experienced a lengthy bus replacement service between Hull and Doncaster with
onward train connection at Doncaster. Adding considerable time and inconvenience
to thousands of rail passengers.
However, Hull
based train company pulled out all the stops and used a little known line
between Goole and Wakefield. This meant
that trains could operate right through between Hull and London with no change
and only a relatively minor additional journey time. First Hull Trains was the only train company operating
beyond Goole this weekend. Passengers
using Northern Rail services to Doncaster could only travel as far as Goole and
then faced a bus replacement to Doncaster following the landslip at Hatfield,
near Doncaster. On Monday, the main Hull
to Doncaster line was closed when thousands of tonnes of spoil from the nearby colliery
tipped on to the track. It is likely
that the line will be closed for at least 8 weeks. Northern Rail and First Transpennine Express trains
to York, Leeds and Manchester also involved bus replacement between Hull and
Selby this weekend because of engineering works.
CHEF, which
operates regular public travel surgeries throughout the region and helps
thousands of rail passengers praised the train company:
‘First Hull
Trains has shown considerable innovation at finding a way of getting the trains
through between Hull and Doncaster at a time of major disruption. This has saved inconvenience, time and
disruption to thousands of rail passengers.’ Adam Fowler, Community Environment
Officer.
Editors note
First Hull
Trains operates daily direct train services between Hull, Brough, Selby,
Doncaster and London. There are five
return train services each day on a Saturday and Sunday. The train company, which employees about 100
people in the city is an open access operator and receives no public subsidy.
