National Express axes Lincolnshire coach service to London

The 449 London to Hull service ran daily, stopping at Peterborough, Boston, Spalding, Skegness and Mablethorpe.

The company temporarily suspended the service during the national Covid lockdowns - but now says it will not be reinstating it.

A spokesman for National Express said: “Over the past 18 months, all National Express coach services were suspended twice in response to national lockdowns.

“Since restarting in March, we have been rebuilding our coach network, adding routes and increasing frequency as customer demand grows.

“The 449 London to Hull service which stopped at Mablethorpe, Skegness, Boston, Spalding, and Peterborough, ceased operating in March 2020 and we do not have any plans to reinstate it in the near future.

“We appreciate some people will be disappointed by this, however, we will continue to review our routes and services regularly and where there is sufficient demand to offer a viable service, we will do so.”

The news is a double blow for those in Lincolnshire who used to rely on the convenient coach service. Before the pandemic, in November 2019, the company confirmed it was axing its 448 service to London Victoria, which stopped at other Lincolnshire towns including Horncastle, Coningsby, Woodhall Spa, Sleaford, Bourne and Market Deeping on its way to the capital.

At the time, National Express said the decision was based on passenger figures which were ‘no longer viable to keep the service running’.