Cleethorpes rail service back on track

 

The Cleethorpes to Doncaster railway line is scheduled to re-open on Monday 7 September after an 11-week closure for major engineering work.

 

£20 million has been spent on the line, including a £10 million project at Medge Hall, near Scunthorpe where Network Rail engineers have been saving the line from future subsidence and removing a long-standing speed restriction, which slowed trains down to just 10mph.

 

The hourly First TransPennine Express service from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Meadowhall, Sheffield and Manchester Airport is due to resume with the first train at 0445 hrs on Monday 7 September.

 

To help encourage visitors back on to the rails, FTPE is offering a half-price fare deal from 11 September for two weeks. Anyone travelling on the Cleethorpes - Manchester route to or from Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Grimsby or Cleethorpes can travel at half the usual fare. The discount applies to most tickets purchased at station ticket offices.

 

Kamran Hussain, station manager for First TransPennine Express, says: "This major investment will safeguard the line for the future and help us provide a very reliable service. We are grateful for the patience and support of passengers who have travelled on the alternative road service, which replaced trains during the summer and look forward to welcoming them back on to our trains."

 

First TransPennine Express runs an hourly service totalling 107 trains a week direct from Manchester Airport to Grimsby and Cleethorpes with nearly a quarter of a million passengers travelling by rail into Cleethorpes each year.

 

Councillor Colin Eastwell, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and tourism at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: "It's pleasing that Cleethorpes can once again be the destination of choice for tens of thousands of rail users.

 

"We are pleased that such a substantial programme of improvements has taken place and look forward to welcoming visitors to our resort in ever-increasing numbers."

 

Following completion of the engineering work at Medge Hall and at more than 40 other work sites along the line, passengers will experience smoother journeys with trains travelling at full speed through the area for the first time in several years. The scale of the work carried out represents the most significant investment in the route in living memory.

 

Full details of the First TransPennine Express half-price fare offer are available at Cleethorpes and Grimsby stations and at www.tpexpress.co.uk. The company hopes to encourage visitors to make day trips to Cleethorpes during the late summer, including the chance to see the start of the Round the World Clipper Yacht Race, which leaves the Humber on 13 September.

 

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