09/12/2007 01:55:44
A keenly-awaited rail service between Sunderland and London now looks close to starting, after the company behind it took delivery of its first train.
The Grand Central service was initially due to start in 2006, but setbacks to the arrival of its rolling stock have lead to a series of delays. The operator now believes that the service, which will allow passengers to travel direct from Sunderland to London for the first time since the 1980s, will be ready to take passengers by late December.
In a statement on the Grand Central website, managing director Tom Clift said: "I believe we can be up and running in the second half of December but any such predictions can quickly become invalid depending on how things go."
Calling at Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk and York, the high speed trains will take just under four hours to reach Kings Cross. Test trains have been running on the East Coast line ahead of the launch.
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