More services to be introduced between Darlington and Bishop Auckland

As part of the train operator’s modernisation programme, timetable enhancements from 10 December will see services increase from every two hours to every hour on weekdays and Saturdays.

Mike Paterson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The timetable enhancements announced mark an important step forward for our customers. This is the first step in a wide-ranging modernisation programme that will see us add more than 2,000 extra services each week across the Northern Network by 2020.

“The improved services will offer new commuting possibilities and will also boost travel options for leisure travellers.”

The service enhancements will go hand-in-hand with further modernisation across the Northern network, including new and fully refurbished trains, better stations and more ways to buy tickets. Northern’s oldest trains (Pacers) will also be removed from the network – with the entire programme delivered by 2020

Mike added: “Over the next two years, our customers will see further improvements as we work to modernise our stations and facilities. We will also continue to improve our current fleet of trains to include more space, better seats (with USB sockets) and wifi, and we will seek to reduce journey times across the North East.

“This is just the beginning of modernisation for our customers and there are many more exciting improvements to come on our journey to 2020.”