More London trains for Lea Road?

The first Azuma train to operate the Lincoln to Kings Cross route on October 21 passes through Lea Road station.

Trains between Lincoln and King’s Cross have now increased from one to five a day, Monday to Friday, writes Barry Coward.

The Saturday service also increases from December onwards.

At some date in the future, after Network Rail completes construction of new platforms and access, at Gainsborough Lea Road station, the North Notts and Lincs Community Rail Partnership (NNLCRP) hopes to persuade LNER to stop at least one London train a day at the station.

Next year, the NNLCRP hopes to conduct a survey to establish the extent to which such a service might be used for stooping trains.

Meanwhile, getting to and from London has been made easier by the service between Gainsborough Central and Retford, where good London connections are available.

Both LNER and Hull Trains offer greatly reduced fares on off-peak trains provided tickets are bought in advance.

This option used to be available only online, but advanced tickets and collection of tickets bought online are now available at the ticket machine in Gainsborough Central station, which is open every day except Sunday.

Northern has started to run its new diesel trains between Lincoln and Leeds as part of its driver training programme.

These trains are expected to enter passenger service in the new year.

The old Pacer trains that operate to Gainsborough Central, Cleethorpes on Saturdays and the Lincoln service on Sundays will finally disappear in favour of refurbished trains by the end of this year.

The NNLCRP also needs more volunteers to join station adoption groups as they make the difference between a station being solely functional and becoming a welcome gateway to the community.

Anyone interested should e-mail me at [email protected]