National Express scraps 503 Penzance to London coach service

A coach service between London and Penzance has been scrapped, sparking criticism that rural communities are being cut off. 

The 503 service between Penzance and London stopped running on Sunday 1 September. 

A spokesperson for National Express, said: “This change is part of a comprehensive review of our national network and unfortunately the 503 service is commercially unviable. 

“We appreciate that some people will be disappointed by this change. Although there are no immediate plans to reinstate the service, we will keep this decision under review. 

“As an alternative the 504 service continues to operate with five services a day between Penzance and London.”

MP for North Cornwall Ben Maguire has launched a campaign to bring the service back.

He also wants National Express to consider creating more routes through the towns of Bodmin, Bude, Camelford, Launceston, Padstow, St Columb Major and Wadebridge.

“This route for those in certain areas, such as Launceston (with no nearby railway station or other coach routes), served as a very useful transport method indeed," he said.

“But now that the 503 service is being scrapped, residents and visitors alike will have to travel even further to be connected to the rest of the country.”

The Liberal Democrat MP also called on the government to tale steps to ensure coach services are available to people living in and around towns in rural areas like North Cornwall that are not served by mainline rail services.