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New London rail trip to take longer
A new rail service to London has been posted for passengers to avoid an 18-hour trek on the Bank Holiday – but it will take even longer than the last one.
Yesterday the Evening Telegraph revealed the only journey East Midlands Trains is offering between Kettering and London on Saturday, May 23, will take 18 hours and include seven stops and five bus rides.
The new route added to the company's website yesterday suggests leaving Kettering at 11.22pm on May 23, arriving at Leicester station half an hour later, before leaving on a bus 13 hours later at 1pm the following afternoon and taking a journey involving stops at Nuneaton, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Luton, eventually arriving at London's St Pancras Station at 6.05pm.
They are the only two services being offered by the train provider because regular services have been suspended due to engineering works between Kettering and London.
Mark Deutsch, of the Kettering Rail Users' Group, told the Evening Telegraph he thought the blunder was down to the way the website works.
He said: "If the journey was just from Kettering, where there is no service, passengers need to think what would be the most sensible option.
"The way their tickets system works is that it looks for possible routes in exceptional circumstances where a line is having works done. I suspect the system looks at what will be available and offers that."
Rail user Andrew Moore, of Stamford Road, Kettering, said: "This not only scuppers plans to have a bank holiday weekend away in London, but it will stop people heading over to France and Belgium for a break. There should be a rail service to Peterborough or Milton Keynes where the lines are working so people can get trains from there."
The train company said it will be offering an alternative service via Leicester and Peterborough which will take a more manageable three hours, but these tickets have not been put on sale yet.
Bus services will be laid on to replace trains at Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby on Bank Holiday Monday, but a timetable has not yet been released for this.
No-one from East Midlands Trains was available to comment.
New route offered on website
Leave Kettering railway station at 11.22pm on Saturday
Arrive at Leicester station at 11.52pm and leave at 1pm on Sunday on a bus.
Arrive at Nuneaton at 1.40pm and leave at 2.02pm on a bus.
Arrive at Rugby at 2.37pm and leave at 3pm on a bus.
Arrive at Milton Keynes at 4.10pm and leave at 4.20pm on a bus.
Arrive at Luton at 5.05pm and leave at 5.18pm on a train.
Arrive at London St Pancras at 6.05pm.
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Weather for Kettering
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
