It's been announced that a North Yorkshire town will lose a direct train journey from its timetable from next month, as criticism of the decision from passengers, councillors and transport groups builds.
TransPennine Express axing Northallerton direct routes:
Earlier this week, rail company TransPennine Express revealed that its services operating between Liverpool Lime Street and Newcastle will no longer call at Northallerton in both directions.
Instead, the transport firm said that fellow rail company London North Eastern Railway (LNER) would be running a new service between York and Newcastle in both directions, including a station call at Northallerton, at two-hour intervals.
"Our Teesside services will continue to run hourly, and we’ve worked closely with our industry partners to find a solution for this, with an LNER shuttle service being introduced on the route between York and Newcastle, running every two hours on weekdays from December 2024.”
Despite TransPennine Express going ahead with its changes, criticism among passengers, councillors and transport bosses has been building, with the main issues centring on the lack of consultation on altering the train timetable.
North Yorkshire councillor, Caroline Dickinson, who covers the Northallerton South division, has led calls for TransPennine to rethink the change, noting the significant impact it could have on people in Northallerton and the surrounding areas.
Cllr Dickinson said: "Some time ago it had been proposed that there would be a reduction in the number of trains stopping at Northallerton; representations were put forward and this did not happen.
"I would like to know on what basis are they stopping the direct link, what discussion has taken place and what evidence they have for this decision; stopping on December 15 is short notice for anyone who might have to make alternative arrangements.
"Many people use the train to come into Northallerton to work and visit, so why break this link? And by what route do they suggest people use to get to Liverpool Lime Street?"
Cllr Dickinson also described Northallerton as a "busy, vibrant market town", which has had a lot of development over the last few years and fears that families might not choose the town if transport links are cut.
She added: " The High Street bucks the trend of many other market towns with new businesses taking up premises, the market is first class with many traders that attract many people from many miles.
"There are many new houses already built with more in the pipeline, the easy access to rail travel could be one of the reasons people chose to move here and some people may need that direct link to Liverpool Lime Street.
Some of the concerns raised by the town council include that the new LNER services are temporary and only anticipated until December 2025, the fact that services to Saltburn will be lost, the idea that these alterations will require more changes to reach Liverpool and other stations, and the confusion over tickets from LNER and TransPennine Express not being valid on each other's services.
A spokesperson for Northallerton Town Council said: "Northallerton Town Council are very concerned by the timetable changes being implemented by rail companies that affect services stopping at Northallerton station from 15th December and the adverse impact this will have.
"Reducing services is not acceptable and we call upon all statutory authorities and bodies to work closely together to improve capacity on the East Coast Line, without detrimental effects upon Northallerton for rail users, businesses and residents of the town and we will continue to share our concerns with all parties."
It's understood that the loss of Northallerton's train services will see additional TransPennine Express journeys for passengers at Chester-le-Street and Eaglescliffe.
The rail company said that trains will stop at Eaglescliffe for the first time next month, with customers able to take an hourly service to Redcar or York and Manchester.
In the opposite direction, TPE customers will be able to travel from Eaglescliffe to Redcar, with services calling at Thornaby and Middlesbrough.
Meanwhile, Chester-le-Street will now receive hourly calls under the timetable changes.
But this has sparked anger among passengers who use Northallerton, with one rail user, who didn't wish to be named, calling the decision from TransPennine Express "an act of sheer vandalism".
He said: "This will decimate train services at Northallerton leaving at weekends only a two hourly service North to Darlington and Newcastle.
"This is the price we have paid for Chester-le-Street to have an hourly service.
"Our train service has been given to someone else.
This is an act of sheer vandalism by TransPennine with no consultation.
"This massively reduces Northallerton's connectivity to Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester. It must be reversed."
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