DIRECT train services between Middlesbrough and London will begin in 2020 using new Intercity Express trains built in County Durham, the new East Coast Main Line (ECML) operator has confirmed.

Bosses at Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) have pledged to deliver major improvements for the region's rail passengers with new services, quicker journeys and more frequent trains.

The joint venture between Virgin and Stagecoach, which took control of the line on Sunday after five years of public ownership, has promised a raft of changes, including:

From May 2019

- Quicker journeys times between Newcastle and London, with one service per hour calling at York only; and

- A third train per hour between London and Newcastle.

- Darlington added to Inverness and Aberdeen trains.

From May 2020

- A two hourly non-stop Newcastle to London service taking just two hours 35 minutes.

- Two hourly direct service between Middlesbrough, Thornaby and London.

- Four direct London to Sunderland services per day.

Speaking to The Northern Echo onboard an Edinburgh bound train on Monday, David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains East Coast, said passengers could expect a raft of other improvements, such as free wifi at stations, 65 extra car parking spaces at Durham and 115 at Darlington and extra station seating at both stations.

The operator is planning to introduce 'customer zones’ at Darlington, Durham and York before 2019, with staff using mobile tablets to issue tickets and provide information to customers.

A secure cycle compound and cycle hire facility will be created at Durham, while staffed ticket gates will operate for the full day at Newcastle, Darlington and Durham from 2016.

Customers and communities along the new network will be able to bid for a share of a £3m innovation fund.

Mr Horne said: "Passengers using the East Coast Main Line are already set to benefit from hundreds of millions of pounds of infrastructure investment and service improvements over the next decade.

"Our new customer and communities improvement fund builds on that but puts the decision-making power firmly in the hands of the customers and communities we serve.

“The £3m fund allows Virgin Trains East Coast passengers to shape the future of their train line like never before."

With no electrification on rail links to Teesside, the operator will use Hitachi's electro-diesel bi-mode trains being built at Newton Aycliffe as part of the the Intercity Express Programme to provide the London to Middlesbrough service.

Transport Minister Claire Perry said the launch of VTEC franchise was the start of a new chapter for the line.

She added: "Passengers will benefit from thousands of extra seats, new connections and improved services between London and Scotland. The deal also means more than £3 billion will be returned to taxpayers.

“We are investing record amounts in building a world-class railway as part of our long-term

economic plan.”

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson will be in Newcastle tomorrow (Tuesday, March 3) to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

He will take part in an event at the Northern Stage, telling guests how he started Virgin Group.