From
the TSSA» LNER» must take over Grand Central rail so NHS staff, police, and shop workers can get to work
3 April 2020
TSSA is today calling for publicly owned rail company LNER to take over Grand Central trains, which will temporarily cease operations today (Friday) due to the coronavirus crisis.
The union is also calling for LNER to absorb Hull Trains which stopped running trains earlier this week.
TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said, “Grand Central provides services from the North East and West Yorkshire that many passengers rely on. It needs to keep running so key workers such as those in the NHS, police, and food shops can make it to work.
“When Hull Trains stopped running, LNER put on a replacement direct train service from Hull to London. LNER is also planning to start running trains to replace some Grand Central services. If they’re going to do that why not just take on the whole shebang?
“Across Britain’s rail network there’s been a 95% drop in passenger numbers because of coronavirus which companies like LNER can cope with because they’re in government hands. But companies like Grand Central and Hull Trains are 'open access' operators that don't have any government support so this drop in passenger numbers has hit them hard.
Very interesting idealogical discussion ... open access is supposed to be there to provide extras on top of what's needed in franchises - optional extras. ...