P156KWJ
Established Member
Finally! after its opening in 1993, Mansfield has been the largest UK town not to have a sunday rail service. that is history...
East Midlands Trains said:Nottinghamshire County Council will be funding the service until May 2011, but if the service is as well used as expected it is hoped that the Department for Transport (DfT) will fund it on a permanent basis after this time.
The County Council has led a campaign to encourage the DfT to fund the Sunday service and has gained massive support with over 10,000 pledges of support from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire residents.
In response to the campaign, Tom Harris MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, has approved the start of the service from the start of East Midlands Trains new timetable on 14 December 2008 and the DfT has committed to carrying out a review in January 2011 to decide whether it will fund the service from May 2011.
It is hoped that the Sunday service will carry an average of 1,800 passengers by 2010, which should confirm the long-term DfT funding for the service.