Grand Central celebrates December return and urges passengers to reserve festive travel now

Long-distance train operator Grand Central has confirmed its trains will run again from early December and has urged passengers to book their festive travel now.

The company, which placed its services into hibernation during the current national lockdown, will return on December 3 with a reduced, reservation-only timetable. Grand Central execs are also reminding passengers they will not be running any services between December 25 and January 1, as London’s Kings Cross station undergoes major upgrade work.

Grand Central Managing Director, Richard McClean said: “Getting Grand Central trains back out there on our North East and West Riding routes feels like we’re giving ourselves and our passengers an early Christmas present. We can’t wait to see you all back on board.

“And while it’s great to be back, we can’t emphasise enough the need to book your December travel as soon as possible. To ensure you can travel with confidence we will continue our on-board social distancing rules, and compulsory face-covering policy.

“You are welcome to bring your own food and drink with you as we are not yet in a position to reintroduce on-board catering.

“We have also taken the decision to make Grand Central services reservation-only which means once our socially-distanced seating is reserved you will not be able to buy tickets for that service.”

Mr McLean added: “The message from us is simple - buy your ticket and reserve your seat as soon as you can and check your operator’s webpage or social feeds for any updates or changes before you travel.

“The upgrade work at London Kings Cross over Christmas will have a serious impact across the network and we, along with other train operators, ask you to carefully consider your travel plans in line with Government advice.”

To book your journey with Grand Central, and for the latest information on services, view our latest travel updates page where you can also find information about what to do if you have a ticket for a cancelled service or wish to change your date of travel.

You can also check which services are the quietest here.

If you want to know more about the East Coast Upgrade work, which encompasses the London Kings Cross Christmas closure, head to the dedicated website.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Grand Central Railway Company Limited is an established train operator which provides direct rail connections from towns and cities in Yorkshire and the North East England with London.

Grand Central operates West Riding services between Bradford Interchange, Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract Monkhill, Doncaster and London King’s Cross. The rail operator also operates North East services between Sunderland, Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, York and London King’s Cross.

Grand Central is part of the Arriva group. Arriva is one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing over 53,000 people and delivering 2 billion passenger journeys a year across 14 European countries. We are part of Deutsche Bahn (DB), one of the world’s leading passenger and logistics companies, and are responsible for DB's regional passenger transport services outside Germany.