A new hourly rail service linking the two halves of Workington, Cumbria, will start running on Monday 30 November, thanks to Government funding for the lease of an extra train.

In a further boost for residents, all train services between Workington, the new temporary station north of the river (called Workington North), Flimby and Maryport will be free of charge until the end of the year.

From Monday 30 November, Northern Rail will operate its normal weekday timetable with some trains having additional carriages and, in addition, there will be an hourly shuttle service between Maryport, Flimby, Workington North and Workington. The shuttle service, which will have three carriages, will be operated by Cumbrian rail operator DRS on behalf of Northern Rail.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan said:

“As I witnessed this week, the recent floods in Cumbria have dealt a devastating blow to this community. This additional funding will provide more train services and allow people to use this lifeline service for free. I hope this will make a difference and help the people of Workington.”

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern Rail, said:

“We ran many extra services between Maryport and Workington last week to carry a record number of customers and now the new shuttle service will provide even more capacity.

“I would like to thank our employees for the huge effort they have made to help the people of West Cumbria to stay connected during this very difficult time.”??

The shuttle service will run hourly from Monday to Friday from today, Monday 30 November, until the end of the year. Full details are available on the Northern Rail website at www.northernrail.org or by calling National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.

The timetable for Saturdays and Sundays will be published as soon as possible.

Following severe flooding in Cumbria, a number of road bridges across the River Derwent have been closed making the rail bridge the only means of crossing the river for 17 miles. When Transport Minister Sadiq Khan visited the area last week he confirmed the Department for Transport would meet the costs of putting in place any temporary bridging of the Derwent at Workington.

Source: Department for Transport

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