THE proposed loss of a third of Darlington’s mainline trains will not affect the Treasury’s decision to make the town its new northern campus, the Chancellor has said.

Rishi Sunak visited Darlington yesterday – travelling by train – to check out office space as the plans to move 750 jobs out of London really begin to take shape.

“Of course the connectivity to London is important,” he said, following news that LNER’s timetable for 2022 reduces the number of London-bound trains calling at Bank Top, “but this office should not be about people who commute between London and Darlington.

“My vision for this is that we want people to live and work here, that’s what it is about.

“Of course it is good to be connected to other places but fundamentally this is about local jobs and about trying to hire locally, whether that’s from Darlington college or from universities across the north.”

Earlier this week, northern leaders said the region was facing a ‘near disaster scenario’ due to the new rail timetable that will see many vital services axed and plans to increase services between Teesside, Sunderland, and Newcastle postponed.