Grand Central bosses extend temporary suspension of train services throughout June

Bosses at Grand Central have announced that they are extending the suspension of train services throughout June as they continue to monitor Government advice.

Other train operators have returned this week, under limited timetables and social distancing rules – with LNER announcing all passengers would need a seat reservation to use their services.

Despite this, Grand Central’s managing director, Richard McClean said the company would continue to shape its return, while monitoring passenger demand elsewhere on the rail network.

Mr McClean said: “Being an open-access train operator means, unlike franchised operators, we must sell enough tickets to cover our operating costs.

“The safety of our staff and passengers is essential but social distancing rules mean we cannot yet welcome the number of customers needed to run the service sustainably.

”Over the coming month we’ll get a really informative picture of passenger attitude, Government intentions and how the industry is dealing with social distancing but for now the most sensible course of action for us is to monitor all this and use the time to plan our return.”

The company has recently ran a survey on social media to gather what customers want when they do return.

Mr McClean added: “It provided us with a really useful insight into what people expect from us in terms of social distancing, ticketing and how we deliver service on board.”

For details on ticket refunds and the latest information on services, click here.

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