To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans there are to introduce direct train services from London to (a) Lincoln and (b) Cleethorpes. (315246)

Consultation for the May 2011 East Coast timetable is under way. It is currently envisaged that there will be a train every two hours from London Kings Cross to Lincoln and vice versa. As part of the consultation and evaluation process for the new Intercity East Coast franchise, due to start in autumn 2011, the Department for Transport will investigate the viability of specifying that some services are extended to and from Cleethorpes.