London North Eastern Railway has run a test train to Cleethorpes on 26 June ahead of a potential return to the Lincolnshire town in the future.
Formed of bi-mode Class 800/2 No 800207, the train ran from Doncaster, calling at Market Rasen, Barnetby, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes to check the train’s compatibility with the route and stations, including platform and train validation tests.
The validation process is being supported by Hitachi Rail, Network Rail and Rail Operations Group.
LNER Managing Director David Horne said: ‘This is a really positive step to see whether LNER can reinstate its direct services between Cleethorpes and London King’s Cross. It is early stages yet and there is a lot more work to do to see whether these services can come back for the first time in decades, but today we have shown that with willpower and cross-industry collaboration, we might be able to see LNER services connect Cleethorpes to London once again.’
